A Guardian's Light
by Spirit Seer
Summary: The Golden Sun's rise has caused a portal between the Naruto world and Weyard. With the new Sun-enhanced psynergy, the Summons have chosen our Adepts and others as hosts. Akatsuki can now hunt more than the tailed beasts, esp. with Alex joining them...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hiya! This is a Golden SunXNaruto crossover. Let's hope this turns out well! :D

On some beginning notes, for this story it took about 1 ½ - 2 years to complete the quest in Golden Sun. Then there was an additional 2-3 years of reconstruction for Vale. The reconstruction is almost complete for Vale when the story begins. Our GS heroes are roughly 4 years older depending on their birthdays, which I haven't decided.

As per pairings, I'm doing Valeshipping and Sandshipping/Lighthouseshipping, whichever term you are more familiar with (If you go to Leoshi's "Fellowship of the Sand" forum, you'd know the first. If you haven't, go check it out. We welcome new people to the forum. :D). I may do more... *is indecisive*.

On Akatsuki notes, I really don't know about events too far in the Shippuden arc. I know of some things I've read about on here, but other things I don't, so please go easy on me and sorry if I give unintentional spoilers if there are others like me on here, or haven't finished the games, for that matter. Some things I might have messed with already, but I'll probably try to skate the line between canon and AU for both. In other words, you'll see some canon and some not depending on how it helps the story. xD Current Akatsuki members include: Pein, Konan, Itachi (is not dead), Kisame, Deidara (not dead either), Zetsu, Tobi, and one new member that you'll learn today. ^_^ If you see something wrong with Akastuki's or any other characterizations, please let me know. I haven't written Golden Sun in a while, and not being up-to-date on the Shippuden arc leaves me without as much knowledge of the Akatsuki member personalities. I'm just praying I don't botch this. xD And Kakuzu, Hidan, and Asuma are dead. Jiraiya's still alive though.

Complete Summary: The Akatsuki have failed in capturing the bijuus. After being scattered for a while in which their threat was forgotten, they have banded back together, and this time they have a new member, who's told them a legend of Guardian Summon, Guardian, and Summon spirits with the same power-giving abilities as the bijuus. The adept heroes and the enemies of Akatsuki will have to join forces if they wish to keep this new power from falling into the Akatsuki's hands, or this time Akatsuki may gather a complete set....

Disclaimers: I do not own Golden Sun. That belongs to Camelot. I do not own Naruto. That belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

* * *

_Prologue_

_It has been almost three years since the formation of the Golden Sun. With new power filling the land, it has ceased destroying itself; slowly, signs are appearing of Gaia Falls repairing. There hasn't been too much of an effect upon the non-adept peoples with the new abundant psynergy source as of yet, but it has been theorized that adepts will soon begin appearing again in greater strength as the generations prosper in this new era, and the power that was lost among the peoples returns to their hands. It will be then that the nations will once again by tested by the avarice that arrives with power; but, for now, our heroes are not worried._

_Since their quest was completed, the reconstruction of Vale began. Once it was well underway and partially completed, the journey home began for others. Ivan headed back to Kalay after rescuing Master Hammet from Dodonpa's clutches, and he makes frequent visits to Contigo to visit his newly-found sister, Master Hama. He is growing stronger under her tutelage. Unable to return to Lemuria until King Hydros can win over the Senate to allow it, Piers began a semi-nomadic life, sailing the seas and journeying to visit between Contigo, Vale, and Imil, to which Mia had returned to run the sanctum and fulfill the duties of her clan, one of which was guarding the lighthouse. Even though it was already lit, she could still see to it that was well kept, she said, and it would be good to learn more about the history of the lighthouses. Piers began studying the Mercury Lighthouse and its history with her, hoping to learn something in relation to his homeland and if there was a connection between Imil and Lemuria. While visiting Mia, he also began learning more about healing techniques from her. The two became close friends._

_As for our Valean heroes, they have continued the reconstruction of Vale and begun settling down. Garet began learning how to rule as Mayor, being his grandfather's chosen heir. Sheba stayed in Vale to be with Felix; and, the two have been engaged for a little over three months after dating for about a year. Isaac and Jenna became engaged shortly after the reconstruction began, and have been married for about a year and a half. Their first is on its way. Isaac is a very happy father and Felix is a very excited uncle, though both are (now and still, respectively) extremely overprotective with Jenna at times. Jenna is amazed she managed to marry and now live within married life at all._

_All are at peace, happily rebuilding their previously broken lives. But, like any cliché prologue to a tale told by a narrator- even I, the Wise One, who sent Isaac and Garet on their initial quest- must announce that the peace they were enjoying after their long struggle was about to come to an abrupt end. A very abrupt end. _

_I never foresaw this. It was never meant to be this way. The tunnel was not meant to reopen, just like the Golden Sun was never meant to rise again and shine its light upon this land. Perhaps fate has intervened yet again…? I know not. I am not fate, nor do I make fate's decisions. But I do know of what is holding the sword against their throats for the trouble they shall newly face, pushing ever so slowly harder. _

_It is the Summons. The Summons that were sealed away within the elemental stars, the Summon Spirits of Weyerd, the guardians of this land like the Tailed Beast Summon Spirits of the other land, before those became other than what they were destined to be. Those ceased being Summon Spirits, left their tablets, and became an embodiment of chaos and destruction, the perfect prey for power for predators of ill intentions. But at least those are out of the wrong hands now, and these have a chance at salvation. These still have a chance not to fall as those did._

_For the enemies of the land that the Tailed Beasts were meant to guard are coming, and they have a traitor of this world among them to lead the way in their infiltration. Unless they are warned, they may fall beneath the sword's revengeful strike. There is nothing that can be done to keep them out now, short of sealing the tunnel, which I cannot do. The balance of this world was already upset, and now that it is finally rebalancing, it wouldn't do well with another imbalance in the newly balanced equilibrium so soon. Moreover, when our heroes lit the final elemental beacon, they accepted the responsibility to take any and all possible consequences for their action. They will accept this consequence as well and overcome it, if they wish to protect their newly "saved" world._

_But I can still warn them. They never knew about the summons sealed within the elemental stars they bore, like many other things that was never told of. They may not listen, but I will have played my part._

_I'll have to hurry. The enemy is drawing near. This world cannot fall beneath their strike._

_I am the final guardian, and when I appointed the elemental stars to them, thus I appointed them as well. They must take up their swords again and prepare themselves for battle. If they wish to save their newly reborn world, they must fight to protect it. They must fight with all of their strength- and with the other world's warriors if they must. There is no other option if they wish to save their world._

_Let's hope this tale ends with the peace of the previous closing chapter of their story._

_I may already be too late…_

* * *

_Chapter 1_

_Vale_

A shadowy figure, faintly illuminated by the dim light from the full moon, conscientiously stuck to the shadows as he surveyed a small lantern-lit house by the river his cliff face overlooked. It was a cool night, and though there was a faint breeze that might carry his scent, he was sure there was no one that would have the skill to detect it. It was a useless precaution, he decided, as he felt the cool breeze caress his forehead and cool his beaded brow from beneath his straw hat that put his face in even further darkness. After all, it was an overcast night, even with a full moon; it wasn't like anyone could see him.

But he wasn't one to take unnecessary risks when others could it for him. Alas, he had no one to do it for him; thus, he would continue to ensure all his plans went according to his liking, but never be in a position where it was apparent of what he was doing. Fate seemed to have a knack for placing him in positions where that was possible, though he had more cunning people to contend himself with this time. He would have to watch his words and actions more warily.

Especially now, he thought to himself, as the night's chilling breath returned to rustle his black cloak. He vaguely noted that it was as black as the night sky, yet the red clouds that adorned it, while adding an aesthetic appreciation to it, did nothing in resemblance of the dusky heavens. Unless you were aiming for an image of the last day of the world and chaos. With the organization he was apart of, he could consider filing that notion of possibility away for later thought.

Finally, there was a movement from within the house he was patiently observing from his perch. The leaves whispered imperceptibly as he adjusted his footing. While the ninja sandals were extremely more comfortable and flexible, he preferred the sturdy durability of his boots, even if they were heavier- for a normal pair at least. His were specially made for being light and sturdy, as well as keeping his feet more secure. He hated how his feet slid in the sandals. They also kept his toes warm, an added plus which would've been denied to him on nights like this had he continued sandal use. He was never happier than when he returned to boots; he must be the only Akatsuki member that stubbornly wore boots.

And he was monologue-ing again. Sure, it was great for running through his plans, but one of these days it was going to make him completely lose his focus. Focus cost him his previous goal. This time, he would not fail. Akatsuki would gain the Guardian Summons and the remaining Summons, and he would have the omnipotent power he desired.

He returned his attention to the window, watching the occupants intently and careful not to let emotions cloud his focus or judgment.

A young man of about 21 was talking to a young lady of about the same age with reddish-brown hair. The man had messy dirty-blonde hair, and was dressed in a loose, light-colored shirt and dark pants. He had an expression of joy on his face as he spoke to the young lady in the nightdress; he'd had that expression often, a mix of joy and anticipation. Unfortunately, he could never get close enough to hear what exactly they were saying. The wind never favored him in carrying their voices within his elongated hearing range, but this time it did. It was only two names, but that was all he needed, for his heightened senses and previously mingling around the town could take care of the rest of what he needed to know, and the remaining proof he needed for his mission.

He felt the tendrils of the night wind tickle the shell of his ear as it whispered the names he sought:

"_Jenna… Isaac…"_

With a satisfied smirk, he leapt from the branches of his hiding place and disappeared in a quick burst of pulsing blue light. Leaving as silently as he had come, no one was the wiser of his watching eyes from the shadows of their peaceful village.

* * *

_Cave northwest of Vale, in the mountains near Mt. Aleph_

It was dark and dank in the roomy cave, but the only one who noticed was the one living person that stood facing the 7 shimmering light figures all wearing matching cloaks.

"The mission was a success," he reported to glowing shape in the center. "The bearer of Iris is indeed in Vale, and she's guarded with the one chosen by Dullahan." His voice was only slightly muffled from beneath the straw hat that enclosed his face in shadow.

"It appears the legend is true," Leader mused from his center position, his eyes even more unnaturally bright in his hologram.

Deidara added, "Now that that Guardian Summons' existence has been proven, all that is necessary now is a plan of action, hm."

"How do you plan to proceed, Leader?" Leader's partner asked, voicing her question from his right-hand side.

Leader was silent for a moment, debating the knowledge they had gathered with what could be done. Finally, he stated, "The way the Summons of this world interact with their carriers make for capturing them more difficult, as you never know if one particular summon has chosen a carrier or simply made a pact with that person, unless you stumble upon the carrier that can admit to either. Collecting them will be made easier since there's no pattern we have to follow in collecting them like the bijuus; we may collect one or we may collect them all. There's no way of knowing how many there are, either. Even the one who brought the legend to us didn't know, and he knew all that there was to be had on that subject from the resources pertaining to that on this world."

He was silent for a moment, and then he continued, "However, we do know that the most likely place to begin would be the original carriers of the Elemental Stars. When the Stars were removed from Sol Sanctum and the djinn released, the Summons were awakened as well. The only ones who can use the djinn are adepts, but anyone could acquire a pact with a Summon if the Summon thought they were worthy of it. In the end, they choose a carrier, and all pacts are cut off once the Summon is sealed within their chosen host. The first people they could evaluate were the original carriers of the Elemental Stars, the ones that journeyed to light the Elemental Beacons. Our informant has a pact with Haures, the shadow beast, and therefore does not have a Summon. He has said that a Summon and Summon pact cannot theoretically coexist. Consequently, we have no worries of searching for one we already have. And unless we ourselves can obtain pacts with any of the Summons, he'll be our only way of telling who is carrying a Summon and who simply has a pact. Only those that carry Summons or have pacts with them can identify others of their kind."

He paused in his explanation to ensure all his members were on the same page before he continued. Questions or misunderstands would slow their work down; he didn't want any time wasted. Since no questions left anyone's mouths to break the silence when he paused, he took a breath before continuing, "Of the fourteen travelers we are searching for, two died at the Venus Lighthouse, and therefore not in this consideration. Two more died in Mars Lighthouse, and therefore will not be discussed either. From those ten that lived to return triumphant from the quest, one was an old man, a scholar of no adept lineage or talent. He would most likely not have a Summon; it would laughable if he did. That leaves the eight remaining adepts, of which five reside in Vale. Three are men; two are women. Our informant has assured us that of those residing in Vale, fortune has shone upon us in that 2 of them have Summons we seek, from the 4 Guardian Summons. The other two are their Guardians."

A voice piped up from the end of the line of holograms, halting Leader's explanation. "Why are both called Guardians? It's confusing," the masked member interrupted, his voice complaining childishly.

Leader only gave him a look of, Do I look like I know or care what they are called?, effectively silencing the only member to voice a question. If only he would have someone ask _intelligent_ questions….

A figure to Leader's left with the appearance of a shark spoke up. He was fingering the large, wrapped sword on his back. "So, we're after those two?" His voice was eager, and his small, beady eyes shined with anticipation of a fight.

Finally, my wish was granted, Leader thought. "The 4 Guardian Summons are the strongest Summons to exist and are made of pure alchemy power and psynergy, a pure concentration of elements," he stated. "Though they aren't made simply from the one they're named for, there is a Guardian Summon for water, wind, fire, and light. The Light Summon is the strongest Guardian Summon, as it contains the pure essence of the Golden Sun. On a side note, they can think for themselves, however, so they're also known as Summon Spirits, and appear to have genders, strangely enough. The Light Summon is the Guardian Summon Iris. Her carrier is a Fire Adept named Jenna, and her Guardian is a man known as Isaac, an Earth Adept. They both reside in Vale with the carrier of Catastrophe and her Guardian, Sentinel. Their respective carriers are a woman known as Sheba, a Wind Adept, and her protector is named Felix, an Earth Adept. Our informant was only able to pick these two out from the 5. The last is not supposed to have either a pact or Summon."

"So, we get to go fight them, right?" the shark-like member that been excitedly fingering his sword persisted. This time, he had grabbed the handle of his sword and was holding it front of him, as though by having his weapon ready he could wish a fight to appear in front of him to indulge on.

"We have no idea of their skill level compared to ours, Kisame. I do not want to base our entire estimation of their power based upon our one informant. However, I also do not want to let this opportunity pass us by," Leader replied. "We'll proceed with caution."

Kisame smiled, his obvious pleasure at the upcoming battle evident on his face.

"We'll send a reconnaissance group to test out the Guardians' strengths compared to the Guardian Summons' strengths. As their title implies, you'll most likely have to go through the Guardian before you can fight the Guardian Summon carrier. The working of the Summon Spirits appears rather recondite, but that doesn't mean we can't take what we do know and adjust accordingly to what we learn. Capture them if you can, but that won't be the main goal of this mission. I don't want any casualties since we don't entirely know what we're going up against, or if we should have fear of casualties at all. As I said, capture if the opportunity presents itself, but it won't be the central focus."

Leader paused, letting the mission sink in before presenting the question that he was already sure of the answer: "Any volunteers?"

Like clockwork, Kisame announced, "I volunteer myself and Itachi for this mission."

The member who had made the report laughed quietly to himself, though it didn't go unnoticed. As both of the members turned their gazes towards him, he said smoothly, "I was just wondering if this is Itachi's way of redeeming himself for his inability to capture the Kyuubi."

Newly-healed sharingan eyes burned him with the fiery intensity of his glare as his partner shot back, "I don't remember _you_ helping us capture the Bijuus, _medic_."

This time the previously silent member openly laughed. "I didn't recall being an initiated member when that was being done," he said, before sliding in, "and I didn't think your ability to recall was that impaired, Kisame. Perhaps the _medic_ should take a look at your status of health?"

Kisame's eyes narrowed at him while he issued a low growl in his throat. This guy always irritated him!

"However," the corporeal member continued, "there was some information by our informants that the carrier of Flora and her guardian Kirin are just outside the borders of Rain Country. I know that they aren't Guardian Summons, but they are Summons just the same. I would like to _help_ in my _duty_," he threw out for Kisame's benefit. Kisame just continued to glare at him, not interrupting as he continued, "with Zetsu's assistance if he's up to it, being as we're temporary partners."

Leader looked at Zetsu, who gave an affirmative nod for both his halves. Debating on the request, he turned back to the tangible member standing in front of him, and was about to speak when the blonde ex-Stone member said,

"Aren't they that Kyuubi brat and his partner Haruno Sakura, hm? When did they get Summons, anyway?"

"When they unfortunately bumped into our informant shortly after his arrival," Leader intoned with indifferent patience. "Flora chose Haruno as her host and then Kirin chose the ex-jinchuuriki so as to be Flora's guardian, though their carriers haven't realized it yet."

"It's just ironic, really, hm. But so artistic and fitting."

Leader sighed, praying that he wouldn't launch into another speech about art. Thankfully, having only one artist had reduced the art arguments and speeches, though they unfortunately hadn't eliminated them. As his prayer was apparently answered, he once again returned to the task at hand.

"Kisame, you and Itachi will go to Vale and test the Guardian Summons Iris and Catastrophe and their Guardians Dullahan and Sentinel. Remember, this is strongly reconnaissance. Although capture is not required, if the opportunity arises take advantage of it. Don't waste this window of opportunity, but don't underestimate them either that the reconnaissance is undermined or casualties result."

Affirmative nods came from the respective members. Placated, Kisame was once again a lighthouse of ecstasy, his face shining with light of excitement for the upcoming battle he was hoping for.

As silence filled the cave, it appeared that the meeting was over. However, turning to face their plant-like member, Leader surprisingly announced, "Zetsu, you and our newest member will go to the border of Rain Country with the same mission for Flora and Kirin. The same instructions and precautions that I told Kisame and Itachi apply to you as well. Reconnaissance first and foremost, but since these aren't as strong as Guardian Summons, you'll have a greater possibility of capturing them if that window opens. As I told them, don't waste but don't fail in the original goal." Turning to face the physical member yet speaking to all, he intoned indifferently, "Is that satisfactory?"

Nods circled the rooms as all gave their affirmative agreement.

"Meeting adjourned then. Report back to the base in Cloud when your missions are completed, successful or not."

With that, Leader's hologram flickered and disappeared, followed shortly by his partner's. One by one, the others disappeared too, though not before Kisame sent a final glare towards the corporeal member, who only smirked back. When Zetsu was the last who remained, his white side said he would meet him at the old Rain base before they took off on their mission. Hearing an assent, Zetsu then disappeared.

Finally, it was dark inside the cave again, and silence reigned in the rocky dank. Still smirking to himself, the remaining person murmured, "Satisfactory, indeed," as he raised the hand with the Akatsuki ring, once Hidan's but now his, to grip the edge of his hat. He gave a firm tug, and then it gave way to reveal long, sea-green hair with similar-colored eyes to match. The ring choice was appropriate, he thought, since immortality was what he had once sought and almost obtained, had it not been for the blasted Wise One that had stood in the way of his goal, sealing the remainder of the power in Isaac when it was rightfully his.

He would have his revenge. Of this, Alex was certain.

* * *

**A/N:** No, I am not planning MiaXPiers, at least as of yet. You might see some hints of it, but as to a pairing, most likely not. As I said: 'close friends'. Most likely they'll stay close friends, mostly the type of those that share an intellectual interest and have a close bond.

Alex and Mia are siblings in this story. Camelot never says exactly how she's related to him, other than a member of her clan, but Unclever Title's review for jedigrl2001's story "Through the Other Eyes II: Bloodlines" had this interesting point/idea (I don't know which) that Alex was really her brother. I don't know if Camelot has specifically said that, but I thought it would be something interesting to try, at the very least. So, they're siblings here. (I wasn't trying to copy if think I am, and I couldn't talk to Unclever Title, since they were anonymous when they left the review. I just thought it was an really interesting idea to try.) Either way, Alex's betrayal hit her hard. She might find an empathetic kinship with Sasuke when she hears about him/ his story, but obviously there won't be any MiaXSasuke. Come on- a 21 year-old girl dating a 15 year-old boy? Get real. xD

What do you think of this so far? Good? Bad? Encouragement/reviews will help this continue. :3 Thanks for reading, and please review and tell me what you think! Thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello again! I present Chapter 2. And hark! You all get some Valeshipping and Sandshipping/Lighthouseshipping (whichever you prefer to call FelixXSheba) in this chap!

I'm sorry if it was a little confusing last chap. Please bear with me if things are a little confusing; it'll clear up as the story progresses. Part of it was my fault and part of it was Leader's. I didn't want him to know everything since I didn't think Alex would spill out all the Adept secrets and knowledge to him at a whim. He seems more the type to tell only as much as he needs to. But, as I'm writing him, I guess it's still my fault. Oh well, lol. So, please bear with me until the story reaches the opportunity for the characters to understand all of what's happening to them concerning the Summons and Guardian Summons. They don't know themselves, so I can't write them knowing, right? If the previous chapter was really too confusing for anyone, though, let me know so I can better explain it, because confusion is not my goal. Further enlightenment is.

Until that time when all is revealed arrives, I pray that you'll enjoy the ride! :D Please enjoy Chapter 2.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun or Naruto. **

* * *

_Chapter 2_

"Here, let me help you, Jenna."

"Isaac, I am perfectly capable of washing dishes on my own. _I am not an invalid!_"

Jenna stood over the sink, her hands dripping in lather from attempting to perform a daily chore. Her throat burned from her frustration, and she could feel the heat traveling around her body and the soap beginning to smoke on her hands. Taking a couple of calming breaths to ensure she didn't lose control and start mindlessly using psynergy, she assessed another similar situation with narrowed eyes that seemed to keep reoccurring, along with her increasing fiery temper.

Okay, she tried to reason through an anger-filled mind, she was pregnant. She'd grant that. Isaac's recent overprotective-ness was understandable. But she wasn't even _2 months_ yet! She was _barely _showing! Her pregnancy shouldn't matter in terms of work. Then her reason began to slip as red began filling her mind's perspective. Yet he _and_ Felix had managed to defy _all_ the odds. During that time, he _and_ Felix had been driving her unbelievingly _insane_. She was being treated as an invalid. They didn't think she still had the ability to work. They were belittling her. The memories came drifting forward with a flaring vengeance strong enough to desire a vendetta. '_Here, let me help you Jenna… No, Jenna, I've got it… Don't worry; we'll take of it, Jenna….'_

If they didn't let her start doing some work soon, she was going to go _bonkers!_

As she stood there steaming, the red grew ever so steadily stronger.

Isaac stood a few feet from her fiery aura in the entryway from the living room to the kitchen, afraid of getting burned if he stepped too close. He watched as Jenna slowly dried her hands on a dish towel before finally turning on her heel to face him, her temper under tight reign. She walked with the controlled step of an executioner over to where he was in the living room, a short distance from the front door. She only needed an axe or mace and a cover to hide her face to complete the visual to go with her aura, Isaac realized. His insides were twisting. Perhaps he could run. He glanced toward hopeful salvation from his peripheral vision, but then resigned himself to his fate. He was her husband. He'd take it like the man was he was.

As Jenna made her deliberately leaden march towards him, every step sounded to Isaac like the drum beating the countdown to his decapitation. He watched her seething form smolder ever closer. Then his brain shot into a frantic overdrive, trying to decipher what he had done wrong before it was too late to save himself. He drew up a blank. Then his recent offer to assist her with the dishes came to mind, but that couldn't be it. How could she get so stressed out over something as small as an offer to help with washing dishes? It was a silly notion. It had been a helpful suggestion, too. After all, Isaac felt Jenna had been stressing over work lately. He didn't want his one and only love to be stressed, especially in her current condition. But then helping her didn't seem to work. So he went to someone who might give advice (and offer insurance to his life since he spoke about it): he went and told Felix. Her brother agreed to help keep her from working when possible, and threatened the new husband with death if Jenna worked on Isaac's watch. Thus, he kept trying to keep her from working. She couldn't be stressing herself over it, could she? Wasn't it was the perfect solution? No work, no stress. Yet he could never keep from making her stressed. All he wanted was to help her. What else could it be? What was stressing her? He didn't want anything to happen to her! Perhaps there was something wrong with him. What was he doing wrong?!

While Isaac began frantically fretting over the situation, his mind running in a million directions yet reaching nowhere, Jenna had to inwardly admit that her rising blood pressure wasn't beneficial to her current state of health. Really, though, these instances just kept piling up- and from both him _and_ Felix. Was there a connection between her recently over-protective husband and her already over-protective brother…? Putting it like that, she didn't doubt it if they had teamed together. Unfortunately, knowing her brother, she wouldn't doubt it either if Felix had told Isaac to keep her from doing chores. _He probably threatened Isaac, too_, Jenna thought with a snort. This thought only served to flare her passions with the notion of cooperative conspiracy, though. She snorted again, like smoke from a bull's nostrils in their fury.

Jenna surveyed Isaac as he stood steadfast in the stubborn dying light before twilight, his stance of final defense mixed with resignation to an early grave. She took in the worried blue eyes of her husband, so out of place amidst the exterior rocky strength, and she felt her anger, so stoked in his arson of her passions, begin quieting as her resigned love for him cooled her fiery spirit from the level of eternal damnation to purgatory. The only times she ever saw her strong man, firm as Mt. Aleph, become rocky with turmoil like from an earthquake- which he himself could generate- were usually in times he was fretting about her or his parents. It gave her a surge of placating warmth to know he cared, but she was still frustrated with him, no matter what. While her fiery spirit would cool, it wouldn't allow her to let go of it that easily.

And yet, looking into his anxious storm-blue eyes with the chaos to fit one, contrasted by the orange-gold his hair became dyed in the light of setting sun, set against such caring features, she felt herself giving in. He _was_ only worried for her health, however much how he was handling it irked her….

She sighed, finally letting go of her passionate fury but not intending to let him get away. Although, considering it was herself, fiery Jenna, she had to wonder how he somehow managed to quiet her fury without doing anything but standing there, waiting for her to rip his head off. How was it he could always quell the passions of her heart as easily as he could rouse them? That thought almost rekindled her frustration as though he could control her without even lifting a finger, but Jenna managed to shove it away for another time.

Isaac inwardly breathed in relief. Her smoldering anger was slowly burning out. Another brushfire calmed before the conflagration. He didn't how it was always calmed, but one didn't question fortune when it struck in your favor. Now he could ensure his words getting through to her. He also knew what to say, now that he thought he pieced the correct information to the right problem. Isaac spoke, watching warily for any signs of overlooked sparks. It wouldn't do to ignite the fuel that was just apparently extinguished. There might still be a couple of dying embers with enough fire to rekindle and spread; and, then, he may never put it out.

"I'm sorry if I've been frustrating you about working, Jenna," he said, carefully checking his words and tone, "but I'm just worried about you. I want everything to go well, like you do. I'll try to back off."

"Thank you," Jenna replied, her posture revealing she had been placated enough not to require spark-watching, to Isaac's relief. He felt his tenseness melt with the revelation that his guess was correct. "I really appreciate the care," Jenna continued, snapping Isaac's full focus back to her, "but I really want the space. I do not need to be babied, Isaac. I can still do just as much as I used to, regardless of my pregnancy. You and Felix have been frustrating me to no end lately when you both take this too far."

Ah. This was partly Felix, too, Isaac realized. His overprotective-ness was a given- Jenna _was _his younger sister- but at least this second turn of good fate meant it wasn't all on him.

Sensing an opening for continued favor in his direction, Isaac cut in, "Then we'll talk to Felix also and see if-"

"See if what?"

Jenna and Isaac both turned to see Felix standing silhouetted in the dying light of the day, wearing his old armor and his Cloud Brand strapped to his waist. Sheba stood just behind him in the doorway, holding onto his hand. Her engagement ring glittered in the final fading rays as the sun left to sleep while the moon took her watching post. Her medium-length golden hair swung across her back and shoulders as she moved to enter and close the wooden door, smiling from a foreseen joke. Neither of them sensed the dissipating tension that still hung in the air between Jenna and Isaac.

"If you're willing to let me bury you in another spar?" Felix continued in a joking manner.

"And who said you could bury me?" Isaac retorted.

"Your spar record, that's what."

Isaac grinned back, stretching his arms and already warming up in the anticipation of Felix's tacit challenge. "Tonight will be my night."

Felix tried but failed to look shocked as he continued the childish argument. "What is this? You're _challenging_ the Great Felix that has creamed you to Cybele more times than Garet has brains to count?"

"Hey, don't make of Garet," Isaac returned in the same manner, "when he's the one that will be running Vale- not _the Great Felix_, I might remind."

Felix laughed, clearly enjoying their fun verbal spar before they began the one he came to ask Isaac to. "So, is that a challenge, _Mighty Isaac of the Mars Star?_"

"I'll defend the honor of my heroic title as I send _you_ to Cybele!"

Their childish game continued as Isaac went to gather his Gaia Blade from the chest in the bedroom, his footsteps fading with Felix's close behind as they exited the living room.

Jenna sagged onto the couch with a mournful moan, burying her face in her hands.

Sheba didn't notice Jenna's quiet lament. Her back was to her friend as she watched the men disappear up the stairs. Laughing at Isaac and Felix's antics, Sheba said cheerfully, "Ah well. Boys will be boys, right, Jenna?" She stood for a few seconds waiting for a reply, but none came. Hearing no response, she finally turned to face her friend. Her countenance changed to one of worry as she assessed Jenna's state of being. Walking quickly up to her and sitting on the couch beside her, Sheba put her arm gently around Jenna. "Hey, Jenna, what's wrong?" Sheba murmured, before joking, "You can't be that worried about Isaac, can you?"

Her attempt to lighten her fiery friend's mood was as futile as creating fire with wet sticks.

Abandoning the attempt, she continued, "C'mon, Jenna. We've been friends for a long time, and I know not much dampens your spirit. What's wrong? Who did it? Tell me and I'll zap 'em. Make their hair stand up in all directions and you can point and laugh at them."

Jenna chuckled weakly, the sound muffled from hiding her face in her hands. She mumbled, "His hair's already sticking up everywhere, so there won't be much difference."

"Garet, huh? Awesome! I owe him a nice sizzling from the crack he said about Felix yesterday-"

"No, not Garet!" Jenna grumbled, lifting her face a little so she could spit out, "Smoke the conspirator pair of my husband and my brother!" Then she plunged her face into her hands again.

Sheba felt her annoyance peak at the Venus duo. Why was it always them when it came to Jenna? "What did they do, Jenna? I need to know what sins they're paying for this time before I can render judgment. Then we can decide what level of lightning bolt to cook 'em with."

Finding an ear that was finally willing to listen, Jenna came out of her withdrawn shell and poured out her frustrations of the past couple months for Sheba, who listened attentively. Twenty-five minutes later, the full story had finished bringing itself into the light for all to recognize the crime committed against her.

"Okay, that does it." Sheba stood up, flexing her fingers to ready herself like she usually did before she used psynergy. "Well done, extra crispy, or burned and still smoking? I can offer a package deal if you like?" She chuckled.

Jenna smiled weakly. "The last sounds appealing," she admitted. "Although, I'll be willing to forego their death for a sharp bolt if they'd just listen to me and stop it."

"Have you tried talking to them?" Sheba asked.

Jenna nodded. "I tried talking to Felix a couple of days ago. He just denied doing anything that wasn't 'absolutely necessary in that particular situation'," Jenna said, marking air quotes as she breathed life into her brother's past words. "As for Isaac, well, I finally got him to figure out what he was doing and stay still long enough to listen to me when you two arrived. You can see what's more important to him now," she grumbled.

Sheba sighed. Sitting back down to give her friend another hug, she consoled, "Accept it. Men are idiots. It's a fact of life. Unfortunately, it also happens to be a fact we have to live with. But we do what we can. Next time, trap Isaac where he can't run away and there are no possible distractions. Men have short attention spans, too."

"I didn't think there'd _be_ a distraction to worry about," Jenna replied with a groan.

"That's just called experience," Sheba dismissed with a wave. "You'll finish catching on to how to catch a guy's ear with time. For now, just accept that although he's being a total brainless idiot, he still cares for you and will come back once the males stop fighting for superiority." Sheba paused for a moment. Then, she added seriously, "I've seen the way he looks at you, the way he acts with you, the aura he carries near you. There's no doubt in my mind- or his (I've checked) - that he loves you. Besides, who else that you know would willingly chase you halfway across Weyard to rescue you?"

Sheba's words and insight put warmth back in her heart. This was why she liked talking to Sheba- she always knew how to fix her perspective. Jenna murmured, "You're right. Thanks, Sheba." She smiled.

Sheba grinned. "Now _that's_ the Jenna I know." Leaping up, she announced, "Alright! We'll watch your husband get creamed by my fiancé, and then you'll watch as I impart judgment to the reigning champion. You'll watch the reigning loser receive his penance after he recovers. When they're both in hospital beds afterwards and can't go anywhere, you can make them listen to you. How's that?"

Jenna laughed. "And who said my husband was going to lose?"

"His spar record."

They both laughed just as the competitors started coming down the stairs, Isaac now dressed in his old armor and his Gaia Blade now strapped to his back. It was dark by now; but, whether in good or bad weather, at noon or midnight, nothing could ever postpone their spar.

Unsheathing the Cloud Brand, Felix stabbed his sword into the air, shouting joyfully-

"Let's get this party started!"

* * *

Two cloaks flapped quietly in the chilled breath of night. Red eyes gleamed like two Mars Stars from the darkness, watching the group exit the cottage for the Isaac and Felix's spar.

Perhaps this would provide sufficient entertainment for his impatient partner while they waited for the opportune moment to strike. At any rate, this would also allow them some insight into what they were up against, and what was the strength of their power.

Despite what his face showed, Itachi, too, was awaiting the spar with interest. He wanted to see more on what psynergy could do.

* * *

"It's cold tonight," Jenna murmured, trying to fight the chill by wrapping her cloak a little tighter around herself.

"We _are_ entering autumn, sis," Felix pointed out. "But I don't even consider this 'cold'. Nothing comes close to the ultimate meaning of the best synonym to 'cold' until you've lived Prox."

"True meaning of frigid, huh?" Isaac joked.

"Frigid was the _daytime_ of a summer in Prox."

Silence greeted his sober words.

"So," Isaac finally broke the silence, "are we going to start your defeat or not?"

Felix grinned as he went to stand a few feet opposite Isaac. "Now we're talking."

Sheba, who had voted to play referee (Jenna opted to sit and watch from the porch), called out, "No out of bounds. Whatever style you wish to use- within reason- is acceptable. In other words, don't destroy the landscape beyond extreme repair and don't kill each other. Avoid lethal blows; I don't want to wake the Great Healer up if this lasts a long time. The last person standing wins. Are you READY?"

They unsheathed their swords, the sound cutting sharp and piercing as the blades in the night air.

Sheba raised her arm. "Stances- SET!"

Isaac and Felix slid into their battle stances as fluidly as water. All their focus was on the other. They had their prides at stake, after all.

Dropping her arm quickly, Sheba yelled, "FIGHT!"

Isaac charged at Felix, aiming for a swipe to his side. Felix dodged it with a low parry, catching the opposing blade and pushing it back with a sudden force that caused Isaac to back up a couple paces as he steadied himself.

The moment open, Felix didn't hesitate. Thrusting his sword forward, Isaac had barely enough time to dodge the attack by moving quickly to the side and readying his next strike as he speedily appeared behind Felix. As he brought the sword down toward Felix's back, Felix dropped into a roll, stopping several feet away from Isaac. As he got up to face him, grin plastered all over his face, Felix leapt back into the fight with a quick secession of strikes and thrusts.

Forced into defensive, Isaac dodged and parried while planning what to try next. Felix tended to leave himself open for a few seconds when he did a sword thrust, so he would wait for that again, though if he played it too much, Felix would eventually realize what he unconsciously doing if he hadn't already. He continued playing defensive, until one strike came that missed his head but severed several upright hairs.

Felix laughed. "Early haircut, Isaac? I can finish the job."

"You're the one who needs it!" Isaac retorted with a quick jab that Felix pushed aside with his sword, leaving Isaac unprotected from his rashness. Before he could defend himself, Felix had planted a solid kick to Isaac's stomach that sent him flying.

"Or I could continue driving you to the dirt," Felix offered.

Righting himself easily, Isaac shot back with a grin, "I'm going plant you one of these times, and you won't be able to uproot yourself. Just you wait."

"Care to try?"

Isaac charged back, swiping at Felix's chest with his sword in response.

* * *

Itachi watched from his perch with interest as the spar between Isaac and Felix progressed. The spar fluctuated between simple kenjutsu **(A/N: sword fighting. Remember, Itachi's going to be thinking in terms of ninja skills, being a ninja after all.)** to advanced kenjutsu. Then it went from only advanced kenjutsu to advanced kenjutsu mixed with taijutsu, though mostly kicks since their hands were occupied with their swords. However, shortly thereafter, they began adding a type of earth elemental jutsu, but it wasn't any type of elemental jutsu Itachi had ever seen, except something similar from Alex. It seemed to cover plants as well as earth. He assumed it must be psynergy, where they didn't seem to require hand signs. Then again, Leader did say they were Adepts, so he concluded it must be a type of psynergy. Though, try as he might, he had never managed to learn much of how it worked from Alex, so he studied the fighters intently, hoping to procure their secrets.

They seemed to focus briefly, and then their bodies would emit a slight glow as light energy began emitting from and around them. Judging by their slight exertion, heat energy was released as well, but judging by how little it was and their easiness with it all, they were skilled at this as Alex was. Perhaps they were more skilled. He had observed a couple of kids in the town practicing earlier in the day, and by the concentration they were using to move a two-foot rock _together_, they were barely on the basics. That was evident by the old man instructing them to focus and whatever else he told them but Itachi couldn't hear from his distance that morning. Perhaps he could persuade him or someone else to impart some of their knowledge, if Alex was refusing to. He didn't like sitting in ignorance when there was a way to glean to knowledge.

* * *

As Jenna watched the spar from the porch more quietly than Sheba, she suddenly felt a warm tingle, like the type she got when she had an internal happiness, or like there was something she should be aware of but didn't know how to pinpoint it. This was usually up Sheba's alley, being the Wind Adept, but she didn't feel like bothering her friend for something probably worthless. Sheba was having the time of her life; she loved watching Isaac and Felix spar like this. She loved the nights they could all get together, and so did she, actually. Jenna decided against needlessly worrying her friend. It was probably just stress from earlier that evening and then being out in the cold night air.

It was nothing, she told herself.

She returned to her quieter, but still enthusiastic, cheering from inside the porch. Sheba continued her more energetic cheering from the outer edge of the porch, trying to get as close as possible without putting herself in danger of the fight.

* * *

Raising his glowing hand from the ground, Felix lifted up a wall of earth that instantly hardened, blocking the rock spires Isaac had sent his way. As the dust from the smashing spires settled, Felix tried his best to catch a couple of quick breaths without inhaling anything. It wouldn't do well to start coughing in the middle of the spar. That would only give Isaac a chance for an opening.

He reached for his sword, breathing a little heavily. Feeling his psynergy align with the Cloud Brand, he felt it begin flowing into the blade, the heat causing it to warm and glow a dull orange, quickly darkening into red. He waited for the psynergy to accumulate as Isaac threw his final spire.

There was a muffled crack before the hiss of crumbling rock. His psynergy strength had overpowered Isaac's in the technique, but Felix hadn't expected anything less due to what it took to create and hold an earth wall that strong. Not only that, but then to push psynergy out from the cracks in the earth to dismantle Isaac's psynergy control that was holding it together. Perhaps he shouldn't waste so much strength; there were other ways of dealing with spires and his brother-in-law's attacks.

_How about a nice little return gift?_ Felix thought as he smirked.

As the final dust settled, Felix gripped the hilt of his blade tightly before leaping out behind his protection. Thrusting his sword into the air, he bellowed, _"Ragnarok!"__  
_

* * *

"_Ragnarok!"_

Itachi interestedly returned his thoughts to the spar below as the Sentinel carrier summoned a fiery sword against the Dullahan bearer. As he watched the blonde resort to blocking the attack with a transparent-orange psynergetic barrier, he began feeling slightly frustrated. No matter how much he watched, he couldn't understand how these people managed to use jutsu without hand signs. Since learning of psynergy, he had understood that it more mental energy, but it seemed to draw on bodily energies as well, albeit not as much as chakra. Chakra and psynergy seemed so similar yet so different. It irked him, not being able to glean the knowledge he required for a thorough analysis. And he still didn't know why they didn't need hand signs. Abandoning that train of thought, he moved to a different one, but still along the same lines.

Psynergy would be more difficult to counter without the heads-up of what psynergy they were using since they didn't use hand signs, and the ability of using the Sharingan to copy the technique would be withheld from him as well. Without hand signs to signify it as a jutsu and no Adept lineage, he was increasingly seeing no method of learning psynergy that he could see. He considered a pact with a Summon might enable the ability, being psynergy-based, but he still didn't know how to procure one. Did they require signing scrolls…? Going nowhere further with that thought, he once again moved elsewhere.

He knew an Adept could only use one element- the one they were born with- but he also wondered if it was possible for them to use techniques from different elements. And their elements worked slightly different, but he had worked out where to group what for the earth, water, wind, fire, light and darkness categories. That shouldn't be a problem any longer; though, while they appeared to have light and dark (to balance the light) in their elements due to the Summons, there were no Light or Dark Adepts according to Alex. Then should he have included light and dark to the list, or shouldn't he have? It was "recondite" in the ultimate sense of the word. It was confusing even him, and he was the genius. As he watched the Guardians utilizing techniques that only required plants and surrounding land, he reasoned that their Earth Adept category was correct from their information, and he was still no further with his other notions.

Deciding to drop the different element idea for later also, he recalled that lightning or wind jutsus were the best to use against this particular type of Adept. But would their Guardian, pact or if they had djinn affect their psynergy or strength? He recalled Alex mentioning that psynergy techniques and strengths could be affected by "different things", but he hadn't elaborated any more than that. He assumed it would affect their psynergy and strength, but he really didn't know what kind of effects they could have. Alex kept a tight "I have no knowledge of it" lid on everything pertaining to that.

He was growing increasingly tired of Alex's skirting of information and his giving just enough to get by. He was fast becoming tempted of just _persuading _Alex to tell; but, unfortunately, fighting between members was prohibited, not that it didn't happen anyway. What he wouldn't do to acquire some wanted answers…

The epitome of confusion and frustration- that was what this venture equaled to. But since they could no longer acquire the bijuus, what other alternative did they have to accomplish their goal?

* * *

The weird tingling feeling still hadn't left Jenna, and she was beginning to wonder if it was actually meaning something. Closing her eyes as she slowly pulled away from the present, she tried to immerse herself in the feeling to help identify it, as Sheba had taught her to do.

When she had succeeded in concentrating only on the feeling and blocking out the sounds and emotions of the spar, she began to dissect it. First, Jenna found only worry. Fine, perhaps that was insecurity that Isaac and Felix wouldn't stop bugging her. But then, as she tried to draw on the worry feeling, there wasn't frustration in it, as she had felt earlier. No resentment. It was… was… actual worry, but a _foreboding_ fear. Expectant.

Great. She was becoming a seer like Sheba and Ivan. They were doomed; the world was ending. Again.

_No, don't ignore it_, Jenna admonished herself. That was Sheba had taught her. Even if it felt silly or not plausible, give it the attention it deserved or "it may not return since you didn't listen," she had said. _Fine, I'll listen_, she thought, as she plunged herself into it again, freeing herself from her own inner distractions.

Okay, it was foreboding. It was expectant. Why was it expectant? Was something going to occur?

Surprisingly, she felt something like an affirmative response. It was like the inner warmth, or someone responding using her own voice since it hadn't found its own yet. A mixture of an innate reply with an adrenaline-like 'yes' driving around her body.

So it was a warning. With that thought, it was like she had slipped on a shoe that finally fit right. She was on the right track, then. But warnings are generally bad. Was it bad?

_Lukewarm. _

Lukewarm?

How could it be _lukewarm?_

_Nothing._

Deciding not to let not receiving a returning feeling get her down when she seemed to be making some weird sort of progress, she decided to continue.

So, it was going to be bad….

_Warmth._

But not as bad as it could be.

_Slight warmth._

Opening her eyes, Jenna decided she was going nuts. She had to be. She was frustrated with this hot-cold game that was leading nowhere. She was probably talking to herself, anyway.

As she eyed her friend beside her, now doing whooping cheers 'cause her brother had once again knocked her husband to the ground, Sheba's words came back to her. _"Listen or it'll disappear…"_

She sighed inwardly, but reluctantly plunged herself back into it, deciding to accept for now that she was actually feeling something. The inner warmth felt slightly reluctant as well, as though admonishing her leaving, but seemed to welcome her back at the same time. This time, as Jenna was dissecting the inner feeling, she felt an antsy feeling to it. Like when they were running out of time to light the Mars Lighthouse, and the Wise One was standing in the way and then making them fight their parents in the form of a three-headed dragon.

…Running out of time?

_Warmth._

Okay, piecing it together, she had a feeling of running out of time, so she needed haste, and foreboding. She could've sighed. Go and save the world again, huh?

She almost felt the feeling _laughing_.

Then she felt her frustration at whatever it was that was laughing at her. So she sent that feeling towards the other one.

The laughing stopped, to her happiness.

Then it was quiet, as if the feeling was done with dissection for meaning, except for a feeling of expectancy. It was waiting for something…. But it was a familiar waiting, like something she wanted, too.

_Warmth._

_Here we go again,_ Jenna thought, but didn't fight it. She went with it. Something that she wanted, too…. She wanted several things, though. What could she have in common with a weird warmth that could answer her back, though…?

Her mind drifted. She wanted to be a good wife for Isaac, and she wanted to be a good sister to Felix and a good friend for all her friends. She wanted to still be a good daughter to her parents, and a good mother for her child, as well as a good teacher and a strong fighter. She didn't want to lose her skills. She wanted to learn. She wanted recognition from Isaac and Felix for when they had been belittling her without realizing it.

_Warmth._

It wanted recognition from them, too?

_Cold._

Knowing them?

_Colder_, if possible.

…Recognition?

_Warmth. _

Recognition?

_Warmth._

How did she give recognition? Saying thank you?

_Lukewarm._ Then she had a tingling feeling, and suddenly an image of speaking to Sheba when they first met popped into her mind's eye.

An introduction.

It wanted an introduction.

_Warmth._

She was speaking to something?

_Warmth._

She was speaking to something. Or someone, but she didn't ponder on that too long. This was really cool! She sent her excited feeling.

And got one back.

She sent a picture of herself.

A purple flower was sent back to her.

A flower?

Then there was a feeling of urgency, and a push. Then, like suddenly being shoved from under your toasty bedcovers into the frigid air of your bedroom when it's winter, Jenna was left without the feeling… and whatever it was she had just "talked" to.

She didn't know what to make of it, except that she shrugged to herself and came back carrying the feeling of foreboding and urgency as she opened her eyes.

It was there again. The feeling. She tried to watch the spar, but the "voice" of it was becoming stronger now the Jenna was listening. The spar wasn't important, but something was. Something she should be seeing but wasn't. Right in front of her nose.

_But what was it?_ Jenna was having a hard time seeing it.

Deciding to trust it, she let it guide her eyes. Eventually, it landed on the dark forest and cliff face beyond the clearing where Isaac and Felix were sparring. There was nothing there. The moon was in the sky, covered by several clouds. There was forest full of trees, bushes, shrubs, grass and weeds. Just shadows and leaves and red-

Wait. What was that? She looked again.

Red pinpricks?? _Glowing_ pinpricks, at that. If this was Garet's idea of joke and he burned down the forest, he was getting a wallop from her…. But while she had an innate aura of fire from it, it wasn't fire. She'd have to forego walloping Garet. Oh well.

Jenna kept her eyes on the light while reaching over to poke Sheba in the shoulder, saying, "Hey, Sheba, look at that." She got no response, so she poked harder. "Sheba!"

"What?" Sheba turned to her to see Jenna looking at something in the distance. Turning in that general direction, she asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Red lights. In one of the trees," she responded. "It's not fire. And _don't_ say they're fireflies; they're not fireflies."

Sheba narrowed her eyes into the shadows. She couldn't tell. "I'm not sure, but I can find out," she murmured, readying her Jupiter psynergy.

* * *

Narrowing his eyes at the weakening fighters that were continuing their spar on the surprisingly still-traversable ground, he decided that it was enough. He wished to test their skills himself after getting a view of their abilities. Reviewing some of what he had seen with what he already knew, he deduced that the blonde chosen carrier of Dullahan, Isaac, was faster on his feet than Felix, the chosen carrier of Sentinel, but Felix packed more power and a little more blade skill. Isaac seemed to have slightly stronger elemental might, though. They also appeared to balance each other, which would make challenging them together a more drawn-out fight than he was hoping for. Reasoning the strengths of Dullahan and Sentinel with theirs, he decided who would challenge whom. They appeared weaker individually, and he wished to play on that weakness.

He turned to Kisame.

* * *

Closing her eyes to focus, Sheba breathed, "Reveal," into the wind. As she opened her eyes, the shadows parted for her- with some difficulty, as though something was straining against it, for some odd reason- to reveal two figures she had never seen before standing in one of the trees.

Her eyes narrowed. What were they doing there? They appeared to be talking, but she couldn't hear from where she was, and she wasn't sure she could make the wind carry the sound all the way to her, what with all the noise the boys were making in their spar.

Whatever they were here for, Sheba got a bad vibe from them, so she decided to be wary. She liked to trust her hunches. "There are two people in the tree," she murmured quietly to Jenna. "One of them has glowing red eyes. That's what we saw."

"Red eyes?" Jenna questioned. "Like a Proxian?"

"Yeah," Sheba agreed, "but they're definitely not Proxian, although the guy standing next to Red Eyes is blue like Saturos and looks like a human shark." She chuckled.

Choosing only to lightly indulge in laughter at Sheba's joke and then continue to press the topic, Jenna asked, "So, what to do you gather from them?"

"I don't like the feel of them," Sheba murmured, her words sober again. "They give off a warning I don't like. I've never seen them before, either, so they're not anyone we know of."

"Threat?" Jenna asked at a similar volume.

"Perhaps. Shall I find out?"

"Go ahead. At least it'll be better than standing around and wondering. Be careful, though. We don't know what they're capable of."

Sheba closed her eyes again. Allowing her mental wavelength to begin blend with the stranger's, she let her psynergy to skirt close to their auras. Once that was done, she delved into the mind of the dark-haired stranger.

She was met with some resistance, but as her wavelength began to match, it began to give away. It felt veiled, though, like she was looking through semi-transparent glass. He must have a really strong mind for that to happen. Then darkness encroached upon her from his mind- his current state of mind. She felt a carefully locked away sadness and anger in a far corner, but she didn't want to spend the time to delve deeper into it. It wasn't what she was looking for, anyway. He was extremely skilled, so said his mind and a few images so procured from his memory. He was also very proficient in mental techniques and illusions. He was probably a Jupiter Adept. Surprised at the notion as she was, she would have to be careful he didn't turn her technique against her while she was still inside his mind. She didn't know how long she had before he noticed, either. She would celebrate the finding later; perhaps as a Jupiter Adept, he had some relation to her. But with the possibility of him being an enemy, she didn't know if she should feel happy and excited or not.

Then she caught a feeling of fire talent.

But how could a Jupiter Adept be proficient in fire psynergies naturally? As she thought this question, suddenly something didn't seem right. Why did the word 'psynergy' not seem to fit? Sheba was becoming increasingly confused. He didn't seem to match her earlier conclusions. Back to the drawing board.

Then a word popped up: ninja. A crossed-out leaf symbol. Images of a closed-in village filled with people and then the current pattern of red clouds that adorned his cloak.

What did the jumble mean? Sheba didn't have a clue. What was his name, anyway?

_Uchiha Itachi?_ What kind of name was that? What did that mean?

* * *

"Kisame, you will take the Sentinel carrier, the Guardian Felix. I will challenge the blonde Dullahan carrier, Isaac. We're after the Guardian Summons Iris and Catastrophe, whose carriers are on the porch down there, but we'll have to go through Isaac and Felix first. After we test the Guardians, we'll attempt the Guardian Summons," Itachi concluded in a quiet murmur. "After we acquire the Guardians Summons, we'll return for the Guardians, just in case. We might need them both together. We don't know how this works."

Kisame nodded. "Understood."

* * *

Were they really friends or foes? It was a feeling that pointed to the latter, but she hadn't pulled any concrete proof out. What were they doing here? Why were they spying?

Pushing further, Sheba only got more jumbled words and images. Then she got a brief flash of Isaac, Felix, Jenna and herself as they were exiting the house along with a feeling of patience. But it was more like a predator-stalking-their-prey patience. It sent ice crawling down Sheba's spine. What did they want with them?

It was beginning to look like they were foes.

Feeling a slight sense of fear course through her, she searched hurriedly, trying to learn why they were after them and what they were doing in Vale. It didn't feel good, and from what she could gather from his memories, both his partner and the one she was inside of were a force to be reckoned with individually, to say nothing of their strength together. But then again, she thought, her friends and herself weren't taken lightly in their abilities, either. She shouldn't feel fear over an unknown that could still be dealt with, now that their surprise attack was over.

She needed to learn why they were there- fast, before he realized her presence….

* * *

Itachi suddenly felt hidden eyes on him, and a power was touching him just enough to test something. He turned his burning gaze to where he felt it from. It was the Catastrophe carrier, Sheba. Her brows were furrowed as she stared intently in their direction. She couldn't be seeing them, though; it too dark to see them from that distance. He had purposely picked the spot for that very reason. Besides, he had also put up a cloaking jutsu; she shouldn't be able to see him, let alone sense him.

Perhaps she had seen his Sharingan….

Wait… His brows creased together as he studied her. She was utilizing psynergy, for she was glowing faintly as she stared exactly where they standing. It was like she was seeing through him, almost….

Like a jolt, he finally felt the presence in his mind. What was she doing there? How did she get past his mental barrier? How could he have not sensed the intrusion before?! Hissing under his breath, his eyes narrowed angrily at her before he shut them so he could have full focus against her. He pushed against her mind with a hard shove, trying to end her search before she found something he didn't care to be revealed.

Their surprise attack and reconnaissance was now ruined by her and her infuriating ability. Alex would pay for not informing them of this.

* * *

More flashing images. The village again. A four-person group out in the middle of nowhere. Himself sitting on a porch with a younger boy looking similar to him.

Perhaps he was a sibling? Sheba didn't know. She just continued scanning, trying to find what she looking for.

A group wearing similar attire. They were in a dark cave. Then they appeared again, but as holograms. A person in a yellow cone-like hat before the holograms. A base. A different area. The village again. A monument with several carved faces. A tower of importance.

Sheba was moving in a direction that wasn't going to be of help. She needed to go back the group. She was going somewhere with that.

A boy they were pursuing. He had something inside him. A hotel. A white-haired man saved him at the last instant with a frog that appeared from nowhere. More people in the cloaks. A base.

There. Perhaps she was getting somewhere. She pushed that.

Mission failure. Rings. A couple of member deaths. A name: Akatsuki.

What kind of name was Akatsuki?

A flash of blue hair. A woman with a flower in her hair. She was standing beside their leader in the center. The group again. A cave. A person in the center. Some sea-green hair stuck out as similar colored eyes stared from beneath the hat. Annoyance.

Why did Sheba feel foreboding all of a sudden? She pushed for those images from his memories.

More images. Anger and more annoyance. Not enough information. Annoyance. Irritation at the person. Newest member. More annoyance. An image. A flash of sea-green hair as the hat was pulled off-

And it felt like the walls were caving around her, pressing her, pushing her from all sides as she went from one emotional turbulent to another. He had discovered her presence! She needed to get out-!

* * *

Itachi pushed harder. Whatever she had done, she was very skilled at it. He hadn't even realized what she was doing, and even paying full attention he didn't know what she was viewing. And then he caught some random images. She was looking for information on Akatsuki and its members. She couldn't learn too much. He needed to get her out now.

Arming his force with chakra, he gave another hard shove, his hardest yet. He felt her presence sent flying from his mind.

He opened his eyes, breathing slightly harder than normal as he eyed her physical form on the ground. He needed to strengthen his mental forces for the next time. Catastrophe's carrier was a force to be reckoned with once she was in your mind. He briefly wondered what Adept type gave you those types of skills.

Then the ruckus started- the reaction to her return. He turned to Kisame.

"Let's go."

Kisame grinned wickedly.

* * *

Sheba was thrown out of his mind with a shove like a super-charged punch to her gut that not only threw her out, it threw her physical body as well. The force behind it was strengthened by something akin to psynergy, but she didn't know what it was. She wasn't in his mind long enough to find out. Her return to her physical body was quick as she was slammed into the wall after the connection broke.

Jenna was at her side in an instant, followed by Felix, Isaac just behind him. As Sheba weakly stood, coughing slightly as she tried to regain the breath that got knocked out of her, she choked, "That was some strong mental defense." She reached a shaky hand to wipe away the blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. "Ouch," she muttered, "I bit my tongue." She swallowed the metallic taste with a grimace.

"What happened?" Felix demanded, giving Sheba an arm for support. Cupping the side of her face with his hand, it began to glow slightly as he healed her injured mouth.

Jenna pointed to the tree where the strangers still stood, obscure to the naked eye. "There're a couple of people up there. Sheba was figuring out who they were with Reveal, and then attempted to read one of their minds. I don't know how much she learned, though."

"There are two strange people in the tree and you didn't think to tell us?" Isaac asked incredulously.

"We didn't know if the situation warranted concern or not," Sheba explained, her words slightly slurred by her healing tongue.

"And when were you planning on sharing this with us?" Felix demanded.

"As soon as we learned what the situation required," Jenna responded, her tone adamant in their choice.

"You should've told us anyway!"

Jenna opened her mouth to retort to her brother.

"Quiet, you guys! That's not the point!" Sheba interjected, her breathing still a little heavy. "They're from some group called Akatsuki, and they're here because of us. We have something they want, but that's not what I'm getting at." Her eyes were wide as she said in a quaking voice, "They were sent here by-"

She was interrupted by two soft thumps on the ground behind the group, at the far end of the sparring field. As they slowly made their way over, Sheba whispered with fear-filled eyes,

"Alex is alive. He's the one who sent them here."

* * *

A/N: And that's it for now. I actually planned a much further chapter ending, but as this was one line into page 20, I don't think you want to sit through 40 pages. I'll stick it into the next chapter, or however long it takes to reach the point I had planned on stopping on. Plus, I added more than I had planned due to sudden inspiration, so that's another reason for the length. ...Was this too long or was it okay?

Lol, no, Jenna is not going psycho. There is a purpose for it, and I may have been a little obvious with it. Can you guess who she was 'talking' to? I don't know how well I pulled off that part, either. What did you think of that part in relation to the chapter? Was it real cliché or did it seem to somewhat flow?

Also, what did you think of the fight scene? Good, bad, or somewhere in between and I need more work? This was the section I was the most nervous doing and I almost skipped writing it, but I think it turned out rather good. How did you think I did?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please R&R!! I love hearing your thoughts. Thanks. :)

~Spirit Seer


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey y'all!! I'm back! After, like, months…. Sorry about that. Hopefully I'll get to write more, since it's summer. I've already posted my first real Golden Sun one-shot! *feels proud* It's called "Living Legends," and there's a poem counterpart to it. Please check them out if you're interested. I'll love the feedback.

Anyways, I'm attempting djinni personalities in this story. And genders. (That's gonna be fun….) Lol, anyway, see if you can guess why I gave each djinni each personality the way I did. I tried basing it on their name, but see if you can guess how it was based off their name.

Djinn seem to have no sense of self-preservation, either. You'll get a laugh outta them. They turn out rather hilarious, I think. Comic relief. You have to admire Kisame's self-control, too, haha.

Anyways, thank you for all the feedback these past two chapters, and enjoy!

(Sorry, I changed the outer summary again. This is still the same story as before.)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (belongs to Masashi Kishimoto) or Golden Sun (belongs to Camelot). This is for purely entertainment purposes only and I am making no money off this endeavor. If I have forgotten this on any other chapters, you should know I don't own the copyrighted material within them. The stories, however, are mine.**

* * *

_Chapter 3_

Felix dropped Sheba's face in shock, the psynergetic healing light fading away.

"W…What did you say?" he whispered, eyes wide.

Sheba gazed at Felix unwaveringly as she pressed again in a firm murmur, "Alex is _alive_, Felix. I saw it in his mind."

Silence fell heavily for a couple of seconds. The dark's dew chilled the adept's hearts as the night's breath seemed to carry the intruder's careful treaded steps to them. They stood like a garden of statues, frozen by Sheba's proclamation and unable to consider fleeing, the same thoughts running through everyone's minds- _How could Alex be alive?! He was swallowed up by Mt. Aleph when the Golden Sun rose! How could he have survived?_

It just didn't seem possible….

But a glance into Sheba's eyes was enough to know that she had made no mistake. Alex was alive, and they would have to fight these intruders if they wanted to continue in the same fashion. Alex didn't send pleasant envoys for niceties. He sent silent shadows with the scythes of death.

Felix snapped out of the ice first, blinking and gently stretching his tightened muscles to revive movement in his limbs. He felt Isaac doing the same beside him. Without having to look at each other, they worked with the synchronization of telepathic twins and the fluidness of warriors that hadn't just participated in a tiring sparring match. Moving away from Jenna and Sheba, they stood side-by-side protectively a few feet in front of the porch. Jenna and Sheba then moved closer toward them, acting as the support pair even though they were weaponless. This didn't go unnoticed by Felix, but he didn't comment on it. Divided they were weaker, but together they were stronger, even if they were weaponless.

Their situation wasn't so bad now.

Locking his eyes on the approaching pair, Felix reached for his Cloud Brand at his waist, this time for a true fight, not a sparring match. A slow, piercing whistle echoed as the air rushed past the sword into the sheath. The drawn blade glowed silver-blue in the moonlight, causing a tiny quake in the air and humming with psynergetic power. Sheba and Felix, being the wielder of the blade, were the only ones who felt the sky's tremor.

Calming his center to clear himself, Felix tried to sense the strength of their opponents by gauging their psynergetic aura, but it was carefully masked. It didn't stop the threat from leaking from them like water dripping from a soaked towel. It poisoned the very air they breathed, permeating every molecule within their space bubbles and beyond to any bystanders.

Felix felt his muscles involuntarily trembling and his palms sweating in his gloves. Beads of sweat were breaking through his forehead, and he knew it wasn't from the spar.

It was fear.

He couldn't even gauge their psynergetic strength, yet their mere _presence_ was causing shivers in his spine. That was _not_ a good sign.

If he hadn't felt it before, he felt it then. There was real danger to be had from this pair. And he didn't need Sheba's foresight to relay that to him.

To be short, they were in deeper trouble than he previously thought.

Quickly, he began a double-take of their situation.

He and Isaac were slightly worse for the wear after their spar, but they could deal with a little weariness. Nothing adrenaline from a death match couldn't cure. Plus, he had Vials, at least, so they were stocked for a second or third round. He hoped Isaac brought psynergy crystals. They were going to need all they had on them. The ground was still traversable, and this area was perfect for tapping into the fullness of their Venus powers. Surrounded by cliffs, trees, semi-dry, sandy ground that alternated between dry rock and moist soil, they wouldn't have had more ideal conditions for their abilities unless they'd been at the Venus Lighthouse. And they had the additional boost of power from the Golden Sun, which they hadn't had before…. [How do you turn off that nightlight anyway?]

Felix did a second glance back for the status of the girls, which turned out to be: full strength, weaponless and only one able to use psynergy. It was not a good combination, no matter what he previously thought. He steeled himself for the future outburst.

_I don't care what they tell me, Jenna and Sheba aren't staying here_, Felix decided._ It's way too dangerous. I can't believe I ignored it before. Especially for Jenna. She can't use psynergy to defend herself since she's pregnant. If she did, she'd be endangering her child. She might be able to summon djinn, but that still requires some psynergetic strength. She can't fight. Sheba's weaponless, too. I'm confident in her psynergetic skill, but against this pair, I'm not endangering either of them, even if they both weren't weaponless and sis wasn't pregnant. Besides, we're fighting blind here, unless Sheba learned anything of their abilities. I don't know if she was in his mind long enough to find out._

He internally sighed anxiously. _We need to get them out of here. I'd feel better over Jenna's safety if Sheba was with her, but I don't like sending them away by themselves. What if there are more?_ He quickly glanced back to their approaching opponents, thinking over Sheba's words. _No, I think these two are the only ones. That's what Sheba gleaned, anyway, and I trust her skill in uncovering the truth in shadow. _

_Jenna and Sheba should be okay if we tell them to go,_ Felix mused hurriedly._ But we can still send some extra protection. And while we're fighting, they can warn Ivan, Mia and Piers to watch their backs for Alex and these incoming freaks._

After quick decision-making that occupied the span of a few seconds, Felix decided to send Jenna and Sheba away to warn the rest of the group, but also to get them away from the danger zone.

He threw a half-second glance to Isaac, who caught it with an understanding glint.

Time to meet the coming onslaughts.

There was another slow, shrill whistle as Isaac withdrew his Gaia Blade from the sheath strapped to his back. His blade glowed faint orange in the moonlight, emanating the strength of Venus. The ground trembled threateningly beneath their boots as the blade was revealed, but it went unnoticed to anyone other than the Earth Adepts.

* * *

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the moving group before them. They appeared to be meeting them, but there was uncertainty to their movements after the initial approach and Felix unsheathed his blade. He stood indecisive, as if trying to determine something. Then his Sharingan eyes revealed his muscles trembling, unnoticeable to anyone from their distance but someone with eyes like his.

Itachi internally smirked. So he could feel the intensity of their presence as far away as he was. Either he had a great sense of self-preservation, or he was extremely astute in ascertaining an opponent's threat. Or perhaps a mixture of both. It didn't particularly matter to Itachi, though it was an interesting turnout. It might make the fight more interesting.

Shortly thereafter, Felix glanced at Isaac, who then unsheathed his sword in turn. Both their swords seemed to be faintly glowing. Perhaps it was the moonlight; but, then why would they be glowing different colors? Were the blades enhanced with psynergy and he simply hadn't noticed?

Itachi's eyes roved over the group, and he saw Jenna and Sheba were weaponless. He hoped they weren't so foolish that they would attempt battling them unarmed. That would nothing short of folly, a death wish. Unless they were so confident in their ability of psynergetic proficiency that they didn't require any sort of weapon or psynergetic enhancer for battle. That seemed unlikely; however, it was still foolhardiness to the highest degree.

As he continued roving his eyes over the small group, he noticed they hadn't moved very far, just enough to be a short distance from the porch. Were they going to come out to meet them, or were they delaying to determine a plan of attack or escape? Itachi almost laughed at the latter notion. They couldn't escape, even if they tried.

There was a dull flash of light, immediately drawing Itachi's eyes to it. An orange glow was emitting from Isaac. Itachi's eyebrows furrowed uncertainly. What was he doing?

* * *

Isaac's eyes fluttered shut as the familiar sensation warmed his core and spread to the rest of his body, loosening his tensed muscles and relaxing his state of mind as he traveled to another, calling forth a spirit of his power. The glow seemed to have no direction at first, spreading its light with no purpose. Then, immediately it compressed, centering in Isaac's outstretched palm before separating to float above it like transparent goo, molding itself as it manifested its form. Seconds later, the glow faded and extinguished, leaving a small, brown, plated and furry creature the size of Isaac's fist suspended in the air in front of him.

Its storm-blue eyes shone with excitement as it saw the summoner. Bouncing in the image of a jumping, armored, tailed creature crossed between an insect and a mammal, it squeaked in a child-like tenor,

"Hey, Isaac! What's up?"

Isaac opened his eyes and grinned at his first and oldest djinni companion. "Hey, Flint," he said, chuckling at the djinni's antics. "Can you do something for us?"

* * *

Itachi felt his eyebrows rise in shock as he stopped with his partner in synchronization several meters away. Something had spawned itself from the light Isaac had summoned, and it appeared to be alive. _Or as alive as something summoned can be_, Itachi remedied. It was about the size of his hand fisted and appeared to be a fat brown insect on a sugar high. Its higher tenor of voice threatened to squeak, yet it managed to remain fluid. It also emanated an unearthly power. It felt like psynergy, yet it seemed slightly different. Like it was a different… shade of psynergy. Itachi didn't know how to classify it.

He didn't feel like voicing it to his partner. If his mind was being bogged down by everything, he knew this was already over Kisame's head.

"Hey, Itachi! The tiny rabbit talks!" Kisame exclaimed with a chuckle of surprise.

Itachi's eyebrows furrowed as he studied the creature's reaction. It was strangely humanly bipolar as it listened enthralled to Isaac's whispered entreaty before whipping around with an angry whistle at Kisame's exclamation. It riposted in the cutest squeak of indignation,

"You crustacean cur! Infidel of the highest insult! I'M NOT A RABBIT!!"

Taken aback by the creature's sudden outburst, Kisame gaped silently for a moment, his jaw hanging slightly open. Once life returned after the initial shock, he laughed throatily, his pointy teeth glistening in the moonlight. This creature was a suitcase of surprises. As his laughter subsided to a continuing subdued chortle, he queried curiously,

"Then, pray tell, _what_ are you?"

Drawing itself up with the cloak of utmost dignity and honor, it proclaimed, "I am Flint, a djinni of Venus. I am Isaac's oldest and most devoted helper since their quest of relighting the elemental lighthouses."

The glow of realization instantly fired within Itachi. So _this_ was a djinni. It didn't appear to be much, simply looking at the small bouncing ball of hyper-ness and mock ferocity, but he knew it packed more punch than what it appeared to have. After all, the power of these things could manifest Summons if there were enough of them. He wondered how much strength the little bugger had on its own. According to Alex, they were rather rare, but extremely helpful if one could be obtained. On a side note, he also didn't know if djinni had genders, but from listening to this one and judging by the tenor of its voice, he was going to hazard it was a male, at least for the present.

Kisame just stared at the little bugger with a cloud of confusion in his eyes. "You are a _what?_" he pressed again. Itachi felt like rolling his eyes. He probably hadn't been paying attention to Alex's explanation. Not that he could blame him.

"A djinni, Kisame," Itachi stated.

"A Venus djinni," Flint restated with pride. He began his resumé of service again. "I am Isaac's first and-"

A hint of exasperation entered Kisame's voice as he pressed his point to the stuck-up ball of fur and scaly plates. "_What is a djinni?_" he interrupted the spiel, causing it to glare at him comically.

"_Oh…_" Flint drawled. He deflated his bubble of self-importance to calmly explain, "A djinni is an elemental spirit, from the spirits of earth, water, wind, and fire. I'm a spirit of the earth. I can enhance Venus- which refers to earth- powers and-"

"Flint," Isaac interjected with a quick reprimand, "I don't think you should be sharing secrets the enemy, especially enemies that can bite you in half and stick you on a cracker."

Flint squeaked, envisioning itself being eaten. He began bouncing around in the air in front of Isaac, flustered from his err, chirping, "Sorry, Isaac!" But a few seconds later, the apparent bipolar personality kicked in again. He turned back to Kisame, blazoning, "Try and make me talk! You'll get nothing out me, crustacean cur! You hear me? Nothing!!"

Kisame's following chuckle was laced with dark promises as he revealed a threateningly toothy grin. Reaching behind him, he pulled his spiny-scale sword from his back with a hard tug. It fell with a resounding thud before him, raising a cloud of dust from the half-destroyed dirt. "I shall enjoy swatting you into the stone from which you came, little fly," he ground out bitingly to the creature he could finally identify. Alex had spoken about them a while back; he just hadn't remembered until then since he'd had no image to correlate with the thing at the time.

Flint squeaked in alarm, jumping beside Isaac to bolster self-support. He called out, half-hidden behind Isaac's shoulder, "Wanna see you try it, Sharkie! Nyah!" He stuck his tiny tongue out at Kisame, blowing a raspberry.

A vein popped in Kisame's temple. "This earth clod enjoys playing with death," he growled. "I shall really enjoy ripping you apart with Samehada and rubbing your remaining ribbons into the dirt!" He gripped his sword tighter, testing his restraint from jumping in then to do it.

Itachi glanced at his partner warningly. Flint opened his mouth to retort again.

"Flint. Enough," Isaac admonished sharply. Flint's antennae drooped slightly from Isaac's chastisement, and he disappeared behind his shoulder to bury himself in his earth adept's scarf. Isaac felt a small surge of embarrassment and pity for the little ball of fur at this display. "You need to learn to hold that tongue of yours, Flint, or you'll get yourself killed," Isaac said, though a little more gently this time.

A couple of seconds later, another orange glow shone in the night as another like creature began materializing. It hung in the air in front of Felix, molding, before melting into the features of a second Venus djinni. Transformation complete, it floated in the air calmly, storm-blue eyes searching for Flint. Seeing his forked tail sticking out from under Isaac's yellow scarf, it moseyed over to him. Once it was floating right beside him, it repeated in a perfect imitation of Isaac, "You need to learn to hold that tongue of yours, Flint, or you'll get yourself killed."

Flint's voice snubbed fuzzily through the fabric, "As if _you're_ one to talk. I don't need to hear that from _you_."

The new djinni released a hollowly trill of giggles that decrescendoed in a slightly ghost-like manner, very much resembling a person falling off a cliff. Itachi didn't know what to make of this one, except to wonder if djinn had the capacity to be crazy as well as powerful. Although if the other was any indication….

Felix chuckled. "Hey, Echo," he greeted her. "Were you listening?"

Echo turned to her host, eyes focused in rapt attention. "Of course," she affirmed. "I like to be up-to-date so I can best be of help." She gave a quick nod, and then turned to glance toward where Flint was hiding beneath the scarf, sending an "unlike _some_ djinn" insinuating glance.

Flint apparently didn't even need to see her face to know what she was doing, for he issued a muffled _hmph_ from the depths of the material. Itachi wondered if they were telepathic with others of their kind.

"Great, _more_ flies to swat," Kisame grumbled.

Itachi just gazed piercingly, saying nothing as he continued studying the little earthen creatures.

Felix kept his eyes on the antagonistic duo as he spoke to Echo. "Echo, would you be willing to help Flint?" he asked, trying again to get his point across.

Echo returned to floating between Felix and Isaac, facing her host. "If it's just as you described, I think Flint should be enough. Providing he unburies himself and does his job," she drawled as an afterthought.

Felix internally sighed in frustration while Flint pulled himself from under his scarf shield with an angry squeak.

Passing a hand over his djinni to quiet the oncoming outburst, Isaac interjected before Flint could retort, "Enough antagonizing. In case you two haven't noticed, we're _kinda_ pressed for time at the moment. You two are _not_ helping."

The two djinn fell into an abashed silence, their antennae drooping with embarrassment.

"Now," Isaac continued, "will you do it?" They nodded.

"_Thank you,"_ Isaac sighed. The djinn argument was over.

Felix nodded his thanks, relaxing too. The little furballs had extremely short attention spans….

A purple glow shone from behind them, surprising all. Before anyone could say anything, the resulting pops resounded and two Jupiter djinn were floating in front of Sheba, flapping their short wings to keep them airborne, as opposed to using psynergy to float like Echo and Flint. The surprised silence didn't stretch very long, though.

"Hey-guys-what's-happening-I-heard-there-was-trouble-man-I'm-so-happy-to-be-able-to-get-out-and-help-and-whoa-they-look-really-strong-good-luck-beat-them-up-watch- their-ashes-will-blow-away-in-my-wind-and-"

"Breath," the other djinni interrupted, her tone airy and calm. She was in no way hurried, her wings moving slowly and gently. "Peace. War will break soon."

"Oh-oh-oh-Ether-you're-here-too-I-didn't-know-Sheba-brought-you-out-also-wow-this-is-so-cool-it's-like-one-big-party-and-"

"I don't know if their ashes are going to blow away on the wind," Echo inputted, "but if you keep talking like that without a breath or pause, Breath, _my _brain's gonna turn into mush. And that'll be from only your insanely fast speech pattern, to say _nothing_ about your djinni abilities."

"Eheh," Breath giggled, flushing slightly from embarrassment as her wings continued to flap at an almost supersonic speed. Or perhaps to the speed of her speech, which was close enough. "Sorry-I'm-just-so-_excited_!" Her voice rose to supersonic pitches, too.

"We noticed," Flint sighed in exasperation. Turning slightly to Ether, he begged, "_Please_ tell me Smog gave her candy again. I don't know _what_ I'm going to do if that's not a sugar rush. Even _I'm_ not that bad."

It was Echo who responded, however, sighing, "I'm afraid that's natural, bro."

Flint looked like he could cry.

Unfortunately, so did Kisame. "_Please_ let me squash them, Itachi!" he begged his partner. "They are driving me insane and delaying my fight!"

At his words, Breath looked from Kisame to his sword, truly seeing them for the first time. She silently, for once, sent a tacit question to Ether, who nodded. He would slice them if he got the chance.

Breath wisely shut her mouth.

"Wow," Felix chuckled in surprise a moment later. "And I thought _ours_ were stressful."

Sheba rolled her eyes. "Yeah, mine drive everyone up the wall. They're even driving _them_ up the wall, so perhaps that's saying something." She jerked her head in Itachi and Kisame's direction. She joked, "Perhaps you can defeat them by simply setting Breath's mouth off." She quickly sobered, though, but was interrupted before she could continue.

"Could someone please explain to me why everyone's bringing out their djinn?" Jenna asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Did I miss something? Or am I supposed to be doing the same?"

"Er, no, Jen," Isaac answered, breathing careful winds of caution. He didn't want to fire Jenna up; they might not extinguish her this time, and he didn't want to be wasting more time that way. He didn't know how patient these intruders were, and he didn't care for Jenna to be the one to break it. "You see, Flint and Echo are going to escort you, and, ah…." He trailed off nervously, as a spark of suspicion was entering Jenna's eyes.

Felix decided to attempt reasoning before Mt. Jenna erupted. "This battlefield is going to be getting really messy, sis, and you don't have a weapon. It'd probably be better if-"

Jenna's eyes were flashing dangerously as Felix broke off, her anger rolling off of her in burning waves. Taking an obstinate step forward, Jenna hissed, "There is no way I'm leaving you three to fight them alone! I'm not going!" Her eyes flared, daring them to contradict her.

Felix dared, however, because the safety of his sister was overriding his ability to allow her to stay. He contradicted, "And you think I'd send you alone? Sheba's going with you."

"No way, Felix!" Sheba shot back adamantly. "I'm not leaving you, either! You don't know what they're capable of!"

"And I say _neither_ of you have weapons, so _neither_ of you are fighting them!" Felix retorted, his stand on the issue unwavering.

Kisame laughed, listening to the argument. All the adept's eyes swiveled to him at the sound. Still chuckling, Kisame said, "Hey, Itachi. I think they are talking about us." Then, to the adepts, he said, "It is rude to speak of people in pronouns when they are standing right in front of you, you know. But then again, it is even ruder to delay the fight they came for and are still anxiously awaiting."

Eyes never leaving the pair, Isaac questioned, "Then would you fulfill the pleasantries and tell us who you are and what you're doing here?"

"Fair enough." Kisame cocked his head to the side, revealing a sharp-toothed grin. "This is Uchiha Itachi, and I am Hoshigaki Kisame. It is a pleasure to meet you." He reached for the sword he had replaced sometime during the new argument. "Now we shall fulfill the job that your Catastrophe-bearer has oh so spoiled the surprise of. Prepare to die." He heaved his sword from his back, letting the tip fall to the ground again with a loud thud.

Unimpressed with the unasked encore sword display and completely ignoring the death jibe, Sheba exclaimed indignantly, "I'm not a harbinger of doom, but I'll surely be one for you! And I'll do it _without_ a fancy wrapped sword!" She took a step forward, lightning sparking her fingertips and casting a weak glow about her hand.

Kisame waited for the attack with eager eyes, but Felix extended an arm out, blocking her path. "Please, no, Sheba. I need you to escort Jenna out of here."

"I already told you, Felix, _I'm not going!_" Jenna exclaimed.

There was silence for a moment as her heated words rang through the air.

A murmur broke it. "Jen, this isn't about your ability," Isaac whispered. It was quiet, but it carried throughout the soon-to-be-battleground with the weight of his words. "I've fought with you- _we've_ fought with you," he amended, "and we all know you're not a force taken lightly. But there are other things at stake here." He paused, looking over his shoulder at her with a quiet point. "Protecting a flame that has not yet burned is one of them. Jen," he whispered, "you're not fighting just for yourself anymore."

Itachi's eyes narrowed at Jenna as her shoulders sagged in defeat. Was she pregnant? Could that affect the summon-withdrawal process? And what affect would a Summon have on a child?

These thoughts went unknown to the Adept group as a small blush of shame crept across Jenna's cheeks, unconsciously bringing an arm to wrap around her lower stomach, the life-not-yet-lived throbbing faintly beneath her touch. Her eyes fluttered shut as she made her decision.

She had to protect their child. She couldn't be selfish. Not now.

Jenna sighed, her eyes opening again to face her husband. "You're right, Isaac," she murmured, defeated. "I'll go."

Isaac sighed, too, but his was relief. "Thank you, Jenna."

Felix nodded to Sheba. "Y'all better take off. It's about to get real ugly," he said. "Head to Mia's place after you've warned Ivan about Alex and his freaks-" -Kisame twitched at his words- "-and wait there for us. Piers should be with Mia."

Sheba nodded back, though somewhat reluctantly. "I had a feeling you were plotting this when you initially pulled out Flint and Echo," Sheba stated, before gesturing at the now silent Jupiter djinni. "And while I wasn't- and am not, for my selfish part- entirely happy at you two fighting alone, it's for the best. So take Breath and Ether. You're going to need them; their speeds are incredible, though Raven Hair more so than Fish-face." Kisame growled indignantly at this description, but Sheba paid him no heed. "You'll also have access to Flora, if you wish."

Felix's expression was mixed as he struggled with his next words. He hadn't expected djinni in return, and he didn't know if he should take them.

Itachi spoke up first, though. "Flora is a Summon," he intoned. Was it possible to summon a Summon if they were bound to someone else?

Sheba turned to him, quirking an eyebrow. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you know she's a Summon, since you know Alex," she stated, before turning back to Felix.

Itachi's eyebrows knitted in frustration. She completely misinterpreted his statement.

…Or did he misinterpret hers, somehow?

Itachi didn't have much time to contemplate this as the djinn exchange was made and the girls turned to leave. His eyes narrowed. "I do not believe we gave you permission to retreat," he intoned threateningly, the Sharingan tomoes spinning.

"Well, we did," Felix shot back. "Take it or leave it, 'cause they still go."

Itachi's only response was a flitting shadow. A shrill whistle pierced the air in the amount of time it took for Ether to set to Isaac and for him to extend his sword. A second later, Itachi was stopped just before the sword, watching the remaining carriers escape.

"I don't think we gave you permission to follow," Isaac echoed back.

Itachi's glare was twice what it had been; up close, it was really scary. But Isaac had seen his fair share of gleaming red eyes- both hostile and not- thanks to the Proxians, and it didn't have the effect Itachi was hoping for as he hissed, _"Move."_

The corners of Isaac's lips picked up in a half-smile as he stated, "No. You're fighting us."

"Unless you're chickening out," Felix threw in from Isaac's left, "and would rather fight near-defenseless girls."

It was apparently possible for Itachi's piercing glare to darken even more, because it did. Flitting back to his place by Kisame, he hissed, "If that is your death wish… so be it."

Felix grinned, setting Breath to himself as he asked cheerily, "Any questions?"

Kisame grinned toothily as he supplied, "None." Heaving Samehada to his shoulder, he gripped the handle tightly and then charged at Felix, swinging the monstrous sword as he closed in.

Isaac had no problem with this arrangement as he locked his sword with Itachi's stone dagger-thing a second later. He had a score to settle with him for threatening his wife.

_No one threatens Jenna and gets away with it,_ Isaac silently vowed as he and Itachi broke apart.

_No one._

* * *

"C'mon, Jenna!" Flint.

"C'mon, Sheba!" Echo.

"Don't fall behind!" Chorus.

Flint and Echo had reverted to their light forms, flitting ahead to guide the way for Jenna and Sheba. They were almost too fast to follow, even though they were already running at an accelerated speed toward the ruins of Mt. Aleph. Sheba jumped slightly to avoid tripping on a tree root.

"Sheba," Jenna panted from beside her. "I'm scared for the boys. Did you feel that flare of power just now? And that's all the way over here…."

"I know," Sheba acknowledged from beside her, using a wisp of Jupiter psynergy to give them both more oxygen to keep up their pace. "But as we obviously can't fight with them, what else can we do?"

Jenna's eyes sparkled through their exertion, and Sheba knew this was Jenna at her most unpredictable. This was proven true as Jenna asked:

"Can I borrow a djinni?"

* * *

A/N: I'm sorry if it seems as though I'm taking a long time to develop this, but since this is the first encounter between the worlds (beyond Alex and Akatsuki) and there's going to be a lot happening during, due to, and after this, I feel this (and its sister half, which shall debut next chapter) is an important opening part of the story that deserves a lot of time (in length of writing). I do, however, have a tendency to be real wordy instead of concise and to the point in my writing. In which case, feel free to point that out, if you feel I'm overwriting. That goes the same if you feel I'm underwriting.

I used 'stone dagger-thing' on purpose. There may be a 'ninja' class in Golden Sun, but I don't think our adepts are familiar with kunai and shuriken. Probably the closest expert on weapons is Sunshine, since he's a blacksmith. Anyone think he might know some of those weapons…?

And I'm going to fully explain why Jenna's not allowed to use psynergy later in the story. In the current events within the story, there hasn't been a good time for the adepts to reveal that, but when that opportunity appears, it will be explained. For now, however, I'm just going to say it also has to do with the fact that she's a Mars Adept and I don't think extremely high temperatures would be good for a developing child.

Also, I would have continued this chapter, but as ShiaoPi requested that I post a shorter chapter than the previous one, I tried to acquiesce for my faithful reviewer to the past 2 chapters. Thus, this is 7 pages shorter, lol. This better, ShiaoPi?

Please leave feedback! It will be gratefully received. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Hey everyone! After a summer-long wait, Chapter 4 is here!

Well, as there was no general complaints last chapter- and speaking of which, thank you so much for all the feedback!!- we shall continue where we left off, though it's going to open with the sister part I mentioned last chapter. Moloch, my dear, we ain't on Weyard anymore. xD

A couple of notes: 1) For simplicity's sake, I think I'm going to have both worlds on the same clock. 2) I don't really remember the Naruto world map, so I don't remember the relative distance from Rain to Fire Country, nor the positions of the country's themselves; so, if you will, we shall pretend that the author has looked all this up and go along with it for the purpose of the story. And then kindly overlook it if it randomly changes later, correct that time or not. Thanks.

I have a question: should I be capitalizing Adepts or not? I'm not entirely sure. I think it is supposed to be capitalized, but….

Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, Golden Sun, or their world and/or characters. I own nothing copyrighted. The story and plot are mine. Everything copyrighted belongs to their respective owners, and as I am making no money off of this, I would appreciate it if you didn't sue me. It would be a lost cause anyhow, as I am broke and you would gain no money. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_Outskirts of Rain Country_

The steadily pouring rain fell in a soothing thrumming upon the foliage like a bedtime lullaby, drowning all those caught within its peaceful song. The clouds were thick, giving no indication as to when this (however slightly lessening) downpour was going to end, nor changing their shade of dark gray to any lighter shade, signifying the coming of the dawn. Only internal clocks could tell what time it was that night.

And the infamous rain that which so adequately bore the name of the country continued to fall- much to the continued dismay of two certain Leaf ninja.

Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura happened to be the two unfortunate Leaf ninja that were waterlogged and having their nerves worn thinner with each moment they spent skirting Rain Country's border. Although Naruto didn't carry the Nine-Tailed Fox within him anymore and the Akatsuki's plans to gather all the bijuu had been thwarted similarly, the two nins couldn't be more apprehensive traveling so closely to the land of Akatsuki's stronghold. Though defeated, the infamous group was hardly scattered. They were still just as strong and probably cooking up some other dastardly schemes to take over the ninja world.

Regardless, they weren't a force taken lightly. Having experienced that first-hand, it naturally made one all the more wary.

But the quickest way home from their mission happened to be by skirting the border. And with Naruto no longer a target, why shouldn't they take that route back home? Why should they be scared of Akatsuki?

Naruto and Sakura were quickly coming to regret this bravado reasoning, wishing they had gone the long way. It was too late now, though. Only way to go was forward.

So they trudged on through the drenched forests of Rain, praying Murphy was out to lunch.

* * *

Traveling in silence, as they had been since they stepped through the border, Naruto debated the worth of breaking it. Something had been worrying him, but he was afraid, with how worn-down both of their nerves were, if it was worth it at the current moment.

He really needed to get it out, preferably not back home, though, where anyone could overhear. Not that the middle of the border of Rain Country was any better, he thought to himself, but they were almost out, and nothing had happened, so….

_Cautious, now,_ Naruto braced himself. _Approach with care, because girls are scary when they're mad, especially Sakura…_

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Hm?" Her sound wavered distractedly a little bit, subtly revealing the stress of their location on her.

Maybe it wasn't such a brilliant idea- _like coming back from the mission through here in the first place_, he added to himself- but like with that, nowhere left but forward.

"Er, there's something… I've been meaning to ask you…" Naruto trailed off, fidgeting a little nervously.

"If it's for a date, you're wasting your time, breath, energy, and it could've waited till we got back to Konoha so I could properly pound you," Sakura shot back, though the nuances of her joking manner were clear enough to read.

Naruto relaxed a little internally as he frantically denied, "No, no, it's not that!" _Not that I wouldn't mind…_ he threw out for his own thoughts. "It's just that- I… I think it's going to sound crazy, and I-…"

Sakura looked at her best friend, concern lighting her eyes clearly despite the dark night. "What is it, Naruto?"

"Well… it's just-" Naruto broke off, certain his next words were so preposterous that they weren't worth mentioning. He was going to get laughed at, he was sure.

But he took a deep breath anyway, forcing the halting words from his lips, although he was also half-afraid of what he was suggesting. "Is it possible- to keep a bijuu's powers after it's been removed? As if it never really left?"

Sakura expression changed to one of pure shock. Obviously, of all the questions she had been expecting, those were not among them.

_At least she's not laughing at it,_ Naruto thought._ That's a good sign._

"It… It shouldn't be," Sakura finally replied, though her voice was laced with slight uncertainty. "I mean, sure Gaara could still control his sand, but he didn't retain the Shukaku's essence. It was fully removed. I don't see how you should retain any of the Kyuubi's actual powers, either," she concluded, sounding as though she was partially trying to convince herself as well. Sakura had never been posed with this question, or problem, before, and she wasn't sure as to the proper answer. After a slight pause, she questioned, "Why would you ask that?"

Naruto felt a mixture of relief and insecurity as he said, "It's just, well, my chakra's been… _weird_… lately, and-"

A split second's tremor in the trees was the only warning Naruto and Sakura got before the branch they stepped on exploded, effectively ending Naruto's attempted explanation as they leapt to different branches, narrowly avoiding being caught within blast.

"What was that?!" Naruto exclaimed, relocated on a new branch.

"A tag?" Sakura queried from the branch opposite him.

"Not quite," came a voice from behind them.

Frozen, they could do nothing as a strong force from behind them sent them flying to the rain-ridden ground with a splash. After a few seconds of skidding, they managed to catch their balance before they went through several feet of mud and muck. They never even saw what hit them.

Sakura and Naruto leapt up, kunai in hand, searching the area around themselves frantically. Where had that attack come from? What was it?

The ever-falling, thrumming rain was their only answer to their questions, thickening the ever-present mud from the undergrowth beneath their ninja sandals and seeping between their toes. The leaves whispered on the branches above them as they shifted in the growing chill. The unrevealing night drew out longer, hiding the attackers as quickly as they had come.

Sakura sent some healing chakra to mend her throbbing back, at the same time analyzing the results of that. Assessing it, she realized the damage was striped, as though several somethings narrow had hit her. This confused her. There was no one behind them- no one around them- since that voice and they had sensed nothing before the explosion. Had it been an exploding tag? What happened back there?

Her mind drew a sluggish blank. Sakura wanted to curse. The chill and rain was making it hard for her to think! And then the leaves in the wind-

Sakura snapped her head up in a realization, careful not to breathe in through her nose as she squinted above her, trying to see through the rain that was fuzzing her vision.

The branches were moving- and there was no wind around them to move them.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed. "The branches!!"

"What?" Naruto whipped his head up. "So that's what got us!" Then he had to quickly look down, having almost breathed in water, snorting to clear his nasal passages.

What was going on?

Lowering her head, Sakura had just enough time to scream, "Naruto, behind you!" before another branch ripped at him from behind. Skidding slightly on the soggy soil, Naruto came to land next to her, moving back-to-back so they could defend themselves more efficiently.

Then the rain increased.

"What's going on, Sakura?!" Naruto shouted through the rain.

"It's the forest!" Sakura shouted back to him. "I don't know about the rain, but someone's controlling the branches-!!"

She halted, as a figure stepped from the water-drowned foliage, cerulean hair and eyes peeking out from beneath a cone-shaped hat that shadowed the rest of his face. Silkily, he responded, his voice easily carrying over the torrential rain without effort:

"You are correct."

* * *

_Vale_

The battle had initiated with a bang and was continuing just as strong. Isaac and Felix were thankful for the Jupiter djinni Sheba had given them. The intruders- Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame- had incredible speed, if that first display hadn't been an indication. They continued in their one-on-one battles before shifting toward tag-teaming, trying to determine the most efficient way of fighting them. After a short period of time, it was quickly determined that strength was best in numbers.

Isaac and Felix were back to back, their feet sinking in the sandy ground. There were patches of sandy soil left behind from the tremors they had summoned and mud from Shark Dude and hot, scorched earth from Red Eyes. Naturally, as Earth Adepts, Isaac and Felix could feel the repercussions upon the soil as much as they could feel the energy of the earth they used.

"Any ideas?" Isaac muttered heavily to Felix, catching his breath. Up against these unusual opponents- what was up with those funny knives, anyway?- while worrying about releasing too much psynergy and either waking up the village or destroying it while they were trying to protect it, it was beginning to make Isaac feel a little trapped. Any idea, any plan toward to a quick victory that could send these guys packing would be wonderful relief. He hadn't come up with anything since suggesting they tag-team.

"Not entirely," Felix responded. "But I'm working on it. We just have to hold on long enough for Jenna and Sheba to make it through the circle. Play it by ear?"

"Okay," Isaac nodded, albeit a little reluctantly. It wasn't what he was hoping for, but it would have to do. He trusted Felix and their ability to work together in a dire situation. He shook the trapped feeling aside; after all, the word 'trapped' did not exist in an Earth Adept's vocabulary.

A simultaneous water dragon attack courtesy of Kisame brought the Adepts back into the battle. Calling forth a djinni, Isaac drew the power into his clenched palm and then pounded then djinni-and-psynergy-laden fist into the ground. "Granite!" he shouted, summoning the djinni from his arsenal.

"_Gotcha back, front, and all your sides, Isaac!"_ he heard his djinni squeak to him through their psychic link as it was summoned.

A golden psynergy shield laced with rock and diamond-hard granite manifested from the earth and spread all around them, surrounding the Adepts in a protective spherical bubble, extending even into the ground to prevent attacks from below. It negated the strength of the water technique, leaving it to fall harmlessly in rivulets down the sides of the shield.

"Hey!" Kisame barked. "It is not fair to summon your little djinni!"

"And where do you get off with these weird psynergy techniques that expand further than your element?" was Isaac's rebuttal. "It evens us up!"

Even though Kisame looked like he wanted to continue the banter, it dropped beneath maintaining the psynergy-enhanced djinni shield for their survival on Isaac's priority list. Kisame feigned hurt on the conversion being shoved aside, opting to send another water attack as Itachi attempted a fireball from a different direction.

Felix wasn't even paying attention to the cut-short banter. As soon as the psynergy shield had been erected and the attack diverted, he was planning. _"We need to get out of here. We're sitting ducks; we're not going to have much time to move when it drops…."_ He shifted his stance, subconsciously hearing the slight crunch beneath his feet as the water cascaded down the side of the shield. _"There's gotta be a way…."_ Isaac shifted beside him as he poured more psynergy into the shield, keeping the water from entering and strengthening where needed and relocating it where not as the attacks continued. He could feel the humidity from the evaporating water thanks to the flames attempting to enter their dry space within the shield bubble….

Felix eye's whipped down to toe the ground as Isaac said, "I can't hold this much longer, Felix." His voice was slightly strained from the intense concentration it took to maintain a 360º shield. But Felix could also hear the weariness in Isaac's voice, and that wasn't good. They couldn't afford to be tiring, not yet, despite their intense spar before this fight.

Felix looked in front of him this time, to where Itachi was preparing another fire technique, still aiming at destroying the shield. They'd either be fried or drowned if the shield gave out. He wouldn't be able to move with Isaac fast enough, no matter how much speed he got from setting Breath.

…If it didn't work, though he sincerely hoped it did. It should. If the ground was dry enough….

Felix inclined his head back toward Isaac and muttered, "How much longer can you hold it?"

"Maybe another minute," Isaac breathed.

"Okay, then listen fast," Felix muttered. "As soon as you drop it, Red Eye's going to cast his fire technique at you. They've foreseen some of what we've done, but I'm betting that's because they watched our spar, and we tend to go all out. But he doesn't know this one." Leaning in a little closer, he whispered the plan.

It was risky, but risky wasn't unusual for them. So, feeling more secure with a plan of action, Isaac nodded.

* * *

Kisame and he had them trapped, and there was nowhere for them to run. Itachi didn't know what they were planning, but there was no escape. As soon as the shield dropped, this fight was over, and they could go retrieve Catastrophe and Iris.

Just then, the shield began to flicker, starting to break apart. He saw the Dullahan-carrier's countenance contort in panic, trying to hold it together. It was futile though. The shield would fall.

Raising his finger to his lips, Itachi gathered chakra in his chest as he prepared to release another fireball. He could feel Kisame readying another water technique on the opposite side of their opponents.

Within the shield, however, Felix was calmly leaning down beside Isaac and, gripping his shoulder, whispered something quickly into his ear. Isaac nodded, then pulled his power back.

There was a loud _crack!_ as the shield shattered, shimmering orange-gold fragments of light falling to the ground with the signature of the djinni summoned in a flurry of energy. Itachi released his fireball as Kisame released his water jutsu, and something Felix shouted was drowned in the onslaught of the attacks. There was a flash of light as his psynergy technique activated, and then the fire and water collided in a massive explosion.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. Had they been caught within the jutsus, or did Sentinel get the better of it? What had he hoped to do with his technique?

The fire and water dissipated, revealing nothing there but scorched, waterlogged dirt.

Itachi hissed. They _had_ escaped. Where had they gone? Knowing Kisame had a better vantage point from his position, he turned toward his partner for the answer.

Kisame growled as he shook his head. "Sentinel shouted something I could not hear and then he and Dullahan melted."

Melted?

Then they had to be here somewhere….

Sharingan bright as he searched around them, Itachi knew they had not run away. They were too proud for that. All Kisame and he had to do was wait; for, even underground, Dullahan and Sentinel would have to reappear sometime.

* * *

Isaac watched the fire user warily as he began to feel Granite's power lessen. Knowing now was the time, he gave a slight nod to tell Felix he was going to let go of the shield, and then he pulled his power back. Granite's strength retreated from the shield, hollowing the manifestation of earth and psynergy with an echoing _crack!_ before it fell, breaking into shattered psynergetic light and crumbled earth. He felt Felix's hand tighten on his shoulder; then, he heard the rush of the air entering the burst bubble as their opponents released their techniques and Felix shouted, "Sand!" Their connection stretched the spell to Isaac, and then his body was disintegrating into sand particles and disappearing into the earth as fire and water met with a heaven-splitting clash of fury where they were previously standing.

For a moment, all Isaac was aware of was pressure. Pressure and being one with the ground, knowing every grain and tree root and grass that resided above or below the surface of the soil. It was a connection to the essence of Venus as he joined with her. Then came the knowledge of the current state of the soil. She felt badly damaged, burnt and waterlogged and abused. Isaac felt saddened as he felt the earth reach out to him, weeping over her continued destruction and pleading with him for the pain to stop. Silently, his power reached out to the spirit of the earth, asking her to hold on for a little longer, and then she wouldn't be in pain anymore. He felt the soul become soothed somewhat, as though he had dried a tear from Venus's face.

As she began to pull away yet cradle him within herself, encasing Isaac with a feeling of protection as though in a mother's womb, he felt his consciousness begin to return to him, and he realized what he was doing joined with the earth in the first place. He and Felix had retreated into the ground using his Sand psynergy to momentarily recharge in the earth before rejoining the fight. He had suggested a sneak attack as they reappeared from behind, try to get in a good hit, and then return to double fighting so they could back each other up. Isaac was still going to be fighting Itachi, but that didn't surprise or bother Isaac. He would've asked for him if Felix had tried pairing him Shark Dude; after all, he still had a debt to finish collecting from Red Eyes for threatening Jenna, and he was nowhere near done collecting.

The only drawback to Felix's plan- that he unfortunately had to realize _now_- was that he wasn't exactly sure where he was going to end up. Felix had the most practice with this psynergy, so he probably knew what to do and had assumed Isaac would know what to do as well. However, having only used it once or twice- both times with the extension from Felix and coming out wherever Felix had dictated- Isaac didn't know how to make the spell drop him where he wanted it to.

This was going to be a bother.

Sensing her child's agitation, Venus reached out and tried to calm her charge's troubled soul, silently sending echoes of peacefulness, despite her own troubled spirit. Sensing his solution, Isaac silently queried the earth about what was he supposed to do. There was nothing for a moment, and Isaac considered maybe she didn't understand, but then an image of the soil entered his mind. He was filled with the entire network of the earth, so vast that it made his head spin trying to analyze it all. Once again sensing turmoil, the spirit of Venus limited Isaac's expanded senses to the immediate area, and not too far underground or reaching too high in the trees- just enough to get a basic idea from as 2D of a 3D diagram as possible.

Relieved over the now understandable information, Isaac could study the network and found that there were several sand-like and rocky paths among the earthy, clay-like dirt. That explained how they were able to use this psynergy in the first place. He felt out for where their opponents were, and he discovered that Itachi happened to be a distance from a particularly sandy spot- which the earth assured would be an optimal exit station- and slowly approaching. Perfect. Setting himself up for attack while giving Isaac time to plan his move on a silver platter. This guy was very generous.

One problem settled, Isaac now had to figure out exactly how he was going to mount the surprise attack. To his dismay, he realized he couldn't use psynergy while underground using the Sand psynergy (not that he'd ever been able to use more than one psynergy at a time, Isaac berated himself). How was he going to do this?

Isaac waited for a few moments, contemplating. Suddenly, he felt his connection to Flint and Echo reappear as they Set themselves- Jenna and Sheba must've passed through the portal. Excellent! Isaac cheered inside that they had made it safely. Now he also felt more open to what he could do, not worrying about if Jenna and Sheba were going to run into trouble.

Wait a minute…. Flint and Echo had Set themselves, and he still felt their connection, even though they were far away from each other. That hadn't happened before. He wondered if this was an effect of being combined with Venus. Either way, it had given him an idea: he could utilize the Set and Summon! He and Felix just _might_ be able to summon from underground, or at least the split second between re-materialization and the fading psynergetic spell.

Isaac turned the idea over in his head before he reached out to Felix about it. What could he summon…?

* * *

_Outskirts of Rain Country_

The drowning air gave a muffled _woosh_ as Sakura's chakra-enhanced punch barely missed her blue-haired target, who dodged away at the last second. With a flick of his hand, the water below Sakura rose up and swatted her away, sending her flying into a tree with a splintering crash.

Rising with a grunt, she realized Naruto had created a Rasengan and currently caught their opponent in it during his distraction with her, but he burst like a liquid bubble- a clone.

Hissing, Sakura leaped from her crouch to avoid a branch aimed at her, coming to once again stand with Naruto. They warily watched their elusive opponent standing before them, hoping he wasn't another clone.

Icy blue-green eyes bored into them, barely a glisten of sweat mixing with the rain water upon his porcelain skin. If he had been any paler, he would've appeared to have been a ghost. He had been silent beyond his initial introduction and occasional jutsu, and he had yet to reveal his name. He probably didn't intend to. With his long cerulean hair and ability to manipulate water and its forms so easily coupled with his silent and slightly ethereal appearance, Sakura thought he was the image of an ice oracle.

But he was an Akatsuki, and for the moment, he was only her enemy.

There were a couple of unusual details about this particular Akatsuki that bewildered Sakura, though. One was the fact that he wore boots as opposed to the usual ninja sandals. While this could be his own fashion statement, Sakura didn't think too much on it beyond the abnormality. The second was his obvious lack of a headband, signifying which village he had betrayed to join the said criminal organization. But that didn't prove much for anything, either. After all, Sasori hadn't worn a headband, but she had known he was from Sand.

However, the inconsistency that stuck out most in Sakura's mind was the lack of chakra he was using to control the branches. Wasn't he controlling them?

Her Inner reminded her that Akatsuki most often worked in pairs, and Sakura hissed under her breath as she said, "Naruto, watch your back. He has a partner somewhere. That's the one controlling the branches."

Naruto's surprised countenance whipped toward her as the Akatsuki member laughed, "You are correct once again. I do have a partner, and he is the one controlling the forest."

There was a moment's pause following his statement, in which he seemed to study the kunai he was holding in his hand, before he slipped it back into his weapon's pouch.

This seemed like a smarter move to Sakura. Over the short course of the battle, it was easy to tell that he wasn't skilled with a kunai as if he had used it all his life. In fact, he held it a little awkwardly, as though he had only begun learning how to use it recently.

Regardless, he was still dangerous. His aura was quietly cold, seeping into the air around him like a mist and chilling those before they realized what they standing next to. While his outer demeanor was masked with an air of innocence, the underlying shadows and his cat-like smile belied an icy heart. Sakura got chills just from looking at him. She knew there was more to him than met the eye. After all, not anyone could make it into Akatsuki. His skill had to lie elsewhere.

Sakura stared at the contemplating Akatsuki before her. What village did this one hail from? Hidden Snow? Rain? Mist?

The Akatsuki's deliberation apparently came to an end, as he reached into a different pocket within his cloak and withdrew a scroll. A slightly unreadable expression through his emotional mask, he murmured, "I wish to confirm something. I do not prefer to rely only on my eyes."

Opening the scroll, he bit his thumb before smearing the blood from the sliced digit upon it into foreign symbols. Sakura had never seen the like of it before.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Naruto shot at him.

The blue-haired man chuckled. "You'll see soon enough."

* * *

Alex had the most secure summoning scrolls of any ninja. Simply put, no one else could replicate the intricate mix of Mercury psynergy and chakra that was required for his summons to work at this point in time, and the ancient Imilian tongue that he used for his summon symbols did not even exist in this world. He was the only Adept of both worlds that could use Mercury psynergy and knew the ancient language he inscribed in.

Well, there was _one_ other.

But she had no business here, and she never would, if he could help it.

He would never see her again, so he had no concerns over her.

Turning back to Naruto and Sakura, he could see the barest hint of an outline, something akin to a faint glow, surrounding each of them. Alex knew this was caused by the slowly manifesting summons. Every Summon Guardian developed that; that tale-tell light was like a flag that screamed it.

However, like chakra, one could work to mask the psynergetic light- like he had- but you had to know it was there first of all. The two before him were blissfully ignorant of their current condition, and it made pinpointing them easier than slipping on ice.

Perhaps he should… help their lights further develop. Once the summons fully manifested, anyone could see the light, not just those with summons themselves. Just to prove that it was there. Zetsu would be able to feel it, not just see it, from whatever tree he was hiding in. Yes, he would definitely be able to feel it. Summons created energy spikes akin to the Tailed Beasts, and coming into contact with psynergy or other summons should be able to bring them out.

Concentrating on the scroll he held between his fingers, he murmured the password in the Imilian tongue. There was a flash of blue light, a spray of icy droplets, and then his sword, encased in its sheath, was in his hand. Alex smiled, gazing lovingly upon the Glacial Blade. His hand running across gently across it, he realized how he had missed his sword. How naturally the hilt fit into the palm of his hand, and how it seemed to become an extension of himself as he unsheathed the blade, feeling the pulsing power through every droplet of water in the storm.

Alex smirked as he saw the looks of consternation flitting between Naruto and Sakura. They had felt the power surge of his mighty psynergetic blade. They didn't know what it was or the might of an Adept, especially one as powerful as him, but they would. He'd make sure of that.

Knowing the weight of the sheath would slow him down, he sent it back to where he had summoned it from, keeping only the sword. It was all he needed.

The faint glow surrounding Naruto and Sakura flared a little brighter as it came into contact with the psynergetic pulse. As the looks of perplexity and uncertainty increased on their faces, Alex felt a smirk grace his features. Whatever small power surge they were feeling from their awakening summons, they were going to need it.

After all, he was completely surrounded by and in his element. He may be an Adept in world full of ninjas- leaving him at an understandably natural physical disadvantage- but in an environment almost entirely of water, he was the absolute monarch.

If he wanted to, he could kill them then and there. They would never know that they had died until their ghosts were staring at their drowned bodies lying beneath their floating souls.

Their lives were in his hands, as they should be.

* * *

A/N: Wow, 13 pages with the author's note. Kept in line with the previous chapter. :)

Sorry for the long author's note. There's some points I wanna clear up, and some stuff are my own comments and requests for comments. xD lol Anyway, first off…

Have I fed Alex's ego enough? lol

And sorry Taromaru. Did I build it up to the battle and stop again? xD Don't worry; you'll get more fighting soon. I'm trying to balance psynergy with chakra at the moment. The fight is starting to reach the climax, though, and hopefully sometime I'll get to do a full explanation on the similarities and differences of psynergy and chakra for this story and more actual battling. Any comments on the battle so far, though?

Sorry if the Sand psynergy description was a little lengthy. The only time I really remember reading about the Sand psynergy (off the top of my head, I could've forgotten a story) was in The Truth is Painful, by Leoshi. (Awesome Sand/Lighthouseshipping/FelixSheba fic. If you haven't read it, read it now.) However, while my partner in crime did a great job with the psynergy, I decided to try a slightly different take on it, centering on the effects and beyond the little ball of moving sand. I was trying to envision what it would actually feel like to have your body dissolved and becoming a part of the earth, immersed in your element. I tried to stay away from them simply being visible mounds (too easy to spot for two Akatsuki, anyway), and this is what happened. Any comments on this either?

Yes, the meaning of the title is revealed by Alex. "A Guardian's Light" refers to the light which a guardian produces when they have a summon sealed inside them. Which summon(s) (pact summons are included in the count) does Alex have? Reviewing Chapter 1 might hint at something, or there might've been more to his statement…. Not telling, lol.

For those that have read Chapter 1 recently, I'll reassure that I'm not completely changing the explanation Pein stated then. Would you expect Alex to reveal the whole/real truth? Nope. That would be too straight-forward for our favorite ambiguous Adept!

Also, **let it be known** that I will be throwing some of my own summons into the fray, all taken from mythology, as that is where the normal summons appeared to have been taken from. I'm building the list, and if anyone has any suggestions for a new summon and their ability(s), while I can't promise it would be used, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Questions, comments, concerns- please drop your feedback in a review!! :D Thanks!


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